HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo (heating complaints) - 2/15/1995
MEMORANDUM
To: Gerald Mathusek
From: Allyn Dannhoff; Chief Building Inspector
Date: February 15, 1995
Re: Code Enforcement Policy on Heating Complaints
On Tuesday, February 14, 1995 we had a conversation about this office's enforcement policy for
heat and frozen water pipe complaints during unseasonably cold weather. Specifically, you
experienced a few instances at 820 John St. where the water supply to the tub froze during the
severe cold weather that was experienced during the winter of 1994. As I stated in our
conversation, the City of Oshkosh Housing Code, section 16-34(A)1 requires the occupied
portion of a dwelling unit to be able to maintain a temperature of at least 67 degrees F when the
outside temperature is -15 degrees F. However, during the unseasonably cold weather
experienced last January, temperatures of -25 and -30 degrees were recorded not only for a day,
but for several days at a time.
This weather lead to a higher than usual number of complaints related to heat and frozen pipes.
Our normal enforcement policy is to record the complaint, call the owner to see if they are aware
of the problem and if action is being taken to correct the problem, then inspect the premises to
verify the complaint and then issue a Correction Notice. Dependent on the cause of the lack of
heat or water and the conditions noted will determine how much time will be given to comply.
Generally no longer than 48 hours is given for a lack of heat. However, the situation at 820 John
St. involved a lack of water to one plumbing fixture, that being the tub. While this is a code
violation, this office would normally allow 2 to 3 days to correct the situation.
Also to be taken into account with this situation (frozen water line) is the extremely cold
weather. It was the understanding of this office that this was not a common occurrence at this
property, but rather a result of the weather conditions experienced last January. In checking the
property file, it was found that no Correction Notice was issued and in checking with the
Housing Inspector, he remembered getting a call about this situation. He indicated to me that he
then called Mr. Mathusek's office to inquire about this frozen water line and was informed that
the problem would be corrected. Apparently this did get corrected as no follow up action was
taken by this office.
During our conversation yesterday, I also told you that this office used some different procedures
during the extremely cold weather. The City's code only addresses minimum temperature when
the outside temperature is down to -15 F, but does not address what to do if the temperature dips
below that. Last winter when heat complaints were fielded, we investigated to find out just how
cold the dwelling unit was, whether the heating plant was working or not and what action the
owner was taking to provide adequate heat. If the owner was taking action such as having the
furnace serviced or was providing supplemental heat we only monitored the situation.
Fortunately we did not come across any situations where some type of acceptable action was
being taken.