Over 100 Philly Rentals Don’t Have Heat during the Holidays, Records Show

Infested with mice and mold: Residents complain about unsanitary conditions at Franklin Field development

Source: Boston Globe / Getty

Staying warm this winter has been a difficult challenge for some residents in Philadelphia, as over 100 tenants this holiday season are struggling to make a way without any heat.

About 114 properties were still on the License and Inspection Department’s list for outstanding violations of the city’s minimum heat laws as of Christmas Eve, according to records obtained by WHYY News.

These conditions can be deadly for tenants, as it is a possibility for someone to succumb to cold temperatures.

“People tend to think that extreme heat is the thing that would kill them but moderate cold has a lot more people dying because we’re exposed to moderate cold the most,” said Dr. Shima Shakory, a public health expert at the University of Toronto.

A new research study released in mid-December found the cold-related mortality rate among people living in the United States increased between 1999 and 2022 from 0.44 deaths per 100,000 people to 0.92 deaths per 100,000 people.

“A lot of times, it might say heart attack, COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] or something else,” she said. “The cold is not just uncomfortable, it’s deadly. I don’t think people realize that this chronic level of cold increases your death risk over time. So if you have this exposure to cold and are living in these houses with temperatures below 68 degrees Fahrenheit over time then you might see [the effects of it] in a couple of weeks from that event.”

Another study released in 2019 suggests that African Americans are more likely to live in older energy inefficient homes and struggle with lack of adequate heating.

“There are laws in place that say folks are supposed to have heat but unfortunately it is a common issue that way too many people are dealing with some sort of heat problem,” said King, who is also a housing counselor at the Philadelphia-based Tenant Union Representation Network. “With the changing of hands ownership or property managers, it also means maintenance is changing… Stay on your landlord, especially when it comes to heat. Keep reaching back out,”

If problems continue to persist, consider withholding some rent in an escrow, then file a complaint with the city’s 311 service so L&I can investigate and require the landlord to fix the issue.

Information from this article was sourced from WHYY.org

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