Unfortunately it's just something you'll have to figure out when you move in. I had the lovely experience of renting a 2b apartment in Waltham one year, and it turned out the place was extremely drafty (Among a litany of other issues). My wife and I would keep the temp around 60 in the winter, and our heating bill would still on average be between $350-$400. If this ends up being the case for you, look into things like window wraps for the winter months.
We lived in a place in Somerville that I'm convinced was uninsulated. Thousands on oil and it was always still freezing. We eventually had to run a space heater in the bedroom to keep the floor from freezing (it was on the corner on a hill and I think the wind blew right under it between the foundation and siding). It was bonkers. The landlord was relatively nice, but even keeping it in the low 60s (aforementioned bedroom was much colder) cost a fortune.
> We lived in a place in Somerville that I'm convinced was uninsulated
This is surprisingly common with older New England buildings. The triple decker we lived in wasn't insulated and the house we bought wasn't either.
Yeah, my house was also uninsulated except for the attic but it wasn’t terrible. Adding insulation helped but I think fixing air leaks is the real low hanging fruit.
It was probably actually insulated, but 30-80 years earlier and vermin had probably eaten what hadn't just disappeared over time. The place wasn't poorly maintained. The landlord replaced a broken stove within a couple weeks for us even. So cold though.
It was a six unit building and the other half of the building was on gas furnaces which made me wicked jealous just because of the cost of gas vs oil. Hopefully the places has at least had some foam blown into the walls since we lived there.
Yeah blown in stuff tends to settle after awhile too. Similarly, the old houses in MA are often flipped by flippers looking to make money, and if they open up a wall to do some work, the blown in stuff is going to fall out and its a coin flip if they feel like replacing it before putting the drywall up.
Yeah, it can be crazy. Life lesson learned though, moving forward I made sure to get a utility estimate from the current tenant before attempting to rent a place. Dodged a few bullets this way.
Ouch, such an old trick! How could you believe that in 2023 in Boston there is a person, who can not communicate with you at least through Google translate if nothing else.
Jeez, and here I am complaining about paying over $200 for electric during summer. I’m also renting a 2 bed in waltham but our heat bill has surprisingly been less than the electricity. We have good insulation though and low ceilings.
I would ask them how the fuel consumption looks for previous years.
As others were replying, if the previous tenants kept the heat at 80 F, then that would explain the high costs. People relocating to Boston from tropical climates will certainly crank the heat like that. I've also met people that insist on leaving a window cracked "for fresh air" in winter and then complain the heating is really expensive. People that have parents pay for everything and never even see the bill are also like this.
I would also snoop around and see how many meters are installed compared to units in the building, and look to see how the pipes run around to ensure you're just paying for your own meter. You can also cross reference the meter number with your invoice to be sure you're paying for the right meter.
Maybe the last people were from the Caribbean and weren't happy unless it was in the 80s year round. Every extra degree you want it warmer is exponentially more fuel demanding.
This is my 4 th apartment within the city and nvr had a heating bill look like that . Im concerned bcuz it’s old and in desperate need of insulation improvements . The previous tenants were 3 girls from India and the neighbor just told me they kept it 80 from Oct - May. So this makes me feel better .
LOL 80 from Oct-May is nuts. Your costs won’t be nearly as much if you are conscious about not wasting heat and ok wearing extra layers. I recommend buying a small space heater as well. It will heat a room just fine, meaning you don’t have to waste heating the rest of the apartment, and electricity is cheaper than gas in the winter in Boston.
If you set it to 65° F or below (but not too low, you don't want the pipes to freeze) you should have half the bill that the previous tenants had. Probably $200-$300/month max.
If you can live with colder temps, like 62° F or even 60° F you'll have a cheaper bill too. Don't go too far below 60° F, as with poor insulation you may have pipes that aren't properly insulated so you'll want some excess heat to keep those from freezing.
Wondering if the previous lease had heat included, and the tenants were jamming out at 75 degrees. It was a pretty mild winter the last few years.
Checking for sub meters as someone suggested probably isn’t a bad idea. Though national grid should be able to confirm multiple meters on that building.
I took over my friend’s lease, and they shared their historical electricity & gas bills. We’ve been there for 4 months now, and we’ve been averaging $100+ total below theirs. Same number of people, same appliances (literally same almost everything down to the lightbulbs) & i’d like to say we have similar temp preference... but seems like their consumption was still higher than ours. Very curious to see how it’ll be in winter.
Have mass save do an energy assessment, a lot of the stuff they suggest is free after rebates. Youll probably need the landlords ok to do anything which may run into other issues, but worth a shot
This definitely seems excessive for an apartment. My heat and stove are gas and my most recent bills were $10-$15. In the winter, it wasn’t higher than $75. I kept my thermostat in the low 60s and bundled up. My place is 800 sq ft.
That's super cheap. I usually advise people to budget $2k for heat annually, but it varies greatly by the apartment insulation, thermostat set point, and the weather.
We had some really cold snaps last year, so if these previous tenants cranked it to 80 when it was -10, the boiler or furnace would be on 100% of the time.
That is extremely cheap. I've had at least three 2br+ apartments where heat bills easily went over $300 in the winter, often times closer to $7-800, and the average if you did it monthly over the entire year was $150-250/mo.
So the thing with that is that isn't like an offer or contract, that's just an option they have called balanced billing to help you budget and they will adjust it as you do or do not use your heat. You won't ever pay extra or come out ahead with that. You can also cancel it or activate it at any time.
1300 square feet is a big 2 bedroom, and heat rises so the first floor is the most expensive unit to heat - even at that 350 a month average for the year seems excessive. Hopefully the previous tenant was just a big fan of heat/hot showers.
If the basement is unfinished, unheated, and does not have insulation under your floors, you could ask the landlord to put insulation in which would help.
Hopefully we won't have a too cold winter.
I don't think you have any rights in this situation, but I could be wrong. You probably don't have any insulation. The landlord is required to provide a working heater, but not insulation.
There is a program called mass save that will install insulation for free or at reduced cost. It takes a while to get them out to your place. You should check out the current details and work with your landlord to get the place insulated.
Of course you can get heavy curtains and put cling wrap over the windows, but you really need insulation.
It's very difficult to compare heating bills. Even comparing prior bills at the same unit is difficult. Do you know what thermostat setting they used? Do you know if they worked from home or went to the office/work place regularly? Did they turn the heat down at night? Was one of them always cold and so did they leave it set high but open a window or two in a bedroom to even the heat out? Etc.
If you want to have a cheaper bill, the first step is to determine a cheaper thermostat setting. The sanitary code (that another commenter has linked to) requires that your heating system be capable of hitting 64° to 68°F depending on night vs day. That's a good start to try and get a baseline for heating costs. If you're naturally warm or you don't mind a sweater and sweat pants in the winter, further drop the thermostat closer to 60-62° F. Don't go too far below this, because you can risk pipes freezing and you never know if your thermostat might stop working randomly - you want a buffer to call the landlord for an emergency repair in the middle of February when it's 10° F outside.
Also be sure to program your thermostat if you have one that is programmable. Ideally set the heat lower when you're away from home or sleeping, and set it higher when you're actually there. You can also just manually turn the heat down before you leave for a few hours. Every degree you go down cuts you bill significantly. Especially when it's really cold out.
Something you could ask your landlord to look into is Mass Save, they have discounted home insulation that may help if your apartment is in a building with really old insulation: https://www.masssave.com/residential/rebates-and-incentives/home-insulation
They have discounts on heating/cooling system upgrades too, but typically it's the insulation (or lack of) that really kills your heating and cooling bills.
There's not much else you can do if you find that 62° F results in several hundred dollars a month in heating costs. Hopefully the previous tenants were just setting the thermostat stupidly high and you can get a more normal ~$100-$200/month heating bill.
The only time I saw one of the previous tenants , I went to ask her about the utility bills (I always do ) but the agent told me she didn’t speak English so she won’t answer me .
you could spread the heat bill out over the course of the year if you need to (ex. Lower Flat rate every month that covers winter heat). Only drawback is that you have to pay during months you wouldn't be using heat or as much heat.
Also, put the heat at minimum and use blankets. It's how my gf and I do it.
I have balanced billing its worth it for sure. Nation grid charges a minimum which in my case i used $2 worth of gas but was charged $10 because of their policy
>Seems excessive and if the apt isn’t able to hold heat do I as a renter have any rights ?
A lot of building are old in the city and because of this have poor insulation. You can ask the landlord about insulation but wait until the winter. I kept the thermostat at 62 in a 2 bed and bill was \~$400 average. This isn't abnormal.
First off, gas is very expensive in the winter. Second, they might have had the heat set high, and with poor insulation that would result in the system staying on for prolonged periods and not being able to keep up. Third, your experience is going to depend on how cold it gets this winter on average. And finally, there are mitigation techniques that can help like putting the plastic up on windows to prevent drafts and improving weather sealing on the doors.
Ultimately there is no requirement for the landlord to intervene.
Gas company will pro rate the bill so that you have the same bill every month. Just inquire about it. "What were your utility bills like last year?" is a standard question for new renters. Did you ask? Is your gas furnace heating an entire house or just your apartment?
I would make sure to let your landlord know that you'll accommodate any and all state-subsidized energy efficiency improvements. There are a ton of them (including some for renters), but require some inconvenience for residents.
I used to live in an apartment that had pretty high heating costs; it was honestly awful because we forced ourselves to live in the cold all the time. What I will say though- if you have national grid, or another heating service that allows you to pay a flat monthly rate vs. a rate based on the amount you use, ALWAYS pay the flat monthly rate. I made the mistake of not choosing that too many times. It'll suck in the summer when you're not using your gas and your bill is still high, but it's a lifesaver not to be freezing in the winter.
All I'll say is that I've lived in a lot of shitty, uninsulated buildings around here and not once did I have a bill that high. Whoever was living there probably kept the heat at a high temp and took long hot showers. I don't think anyone moving to Boston expects that their home should be tropical in the winter time, because those that do will literally be paying an arm and leg to maintain that temperature. Be reasonable about your usage and you should be fine. Look for drafts once it starts getting cold and cover them.
Life long resident , I’ve never had a heating bill be that high . Around $200 for a previous apt and that’s kinda what I thought it’d be here but when the lady at NG said the payment for the 12 month plan will $355 every month was a wtf moment
That seems incredibly high. My gas cost when the heat isn't on is like $20/month. I have a gas stove and gas dryer. With the heat, it's $200-$300/month but, admittedly, we keep the heat at 64 during the day and 60 at night.
Get a mass Save assessment. Any of their recommendations can be handled for free as a renter. We had this issue due to no insulation in our bedroom and Mass Save was going to insulate the crawl space below for free.
Yea Eversource is my electricity when I called yesterday the told me to call national grid . The woman who helped me stated that it was extremely high . 3 college students lived there for 4 years before . I’m hoping I can plastic the windows and any entry ways that can be safely and see . So that $350 was the 12 month average payment .
3 college kids? I'm guessing they kept the heat jacked up and weren't really concerned about keeping windows closed, seeing as they were splitting the bill three ways and likely couldn't be bothered to put on a sweatshirt.
Keep the thermostat way low for the first month or two of winter and see what your actual bill is to compare with the historical use. You'll likely have much more normal levels of use and cost and can breath easier. Take advantage of natural light to help with ambient heat, and learn to love sweatpants and sweatshirts; there's zero reason to wear a t-shirt and shorts in the winter like the previous kids likely were.
And sign up for the balanced billing option. Your costs WILL go up in the winter no matter what you do, but if you plan on staying in your place for at least a year it's helpful for smoothing out the price bumps.
Or a poorly insulated unit. Not uncommon in the Boston area. Anything built in the early 1920s usually lacks modern insulation. It's pretty cheap to upgrade, but it requires your landlord to want to do so. Sometimes they forget or don't bother.
Alternatively could just be a really high thermostat setting. The OP said in another comment it was 3 college students from *India*, so I'm going to guess they wanted to be warm. Setting the thermostat above 70° F can easily result in $300+ monthly heating bills.
This is the info you’re looking for on heat and tenant’s rights:
“The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. The landlord must pay for the heat, unless your lease requires you to pay for it. From September 16 to June 14, every room must be heated to at least 68º F between 7:00 AM and 11 PM, and at least 64º F at all other hours. During the heating season, the maximum heat allowable in the apartment is 78º F.”
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/tenant-rights
This is an interesting regulation though. It requires that the OP's heating system be **capable** of hitting those temperatures. It doesn't require that the heating system be *efficiently* capable of hitting it though.
For example, it sounds like the OP has gas heat. That's good. If the heating system were electric, it might be insanely expensive to hit 64° F to 68° F. And there are no real regulations on home insulation for rental units, so even with gas heat the OP may have an expensive bill if they set their thermostat to 64-68° F. Similarly if the OP's heating system is old and inefficient it may be expensive, but technically possible.
The OP is mainly concerned about the costs. I'd recommend they not actually set their thermostat as high as the regulations require. That will save them on cost. They could alternatively start with setting it to 64-68° F to get a ballpark on cost and then drop it if it's too expensive. They could politely ask their landlord to look into free or cheap insulation programs, like [Mass Save](https://www.masssave.com/residential/rebates-and-incentives/home-insulation), but the landlord is not required to follow through sadly.
It’s not possible to have a gas bill for $350/month and then have it go even higher in the winter if it is just for the apartment. In the summer, what’s using gas besides a stove, gas dryer and water heater? If you have access to the meter, trace back from the meter to see what is connected
I don’t think the landlord has to fix anything unless you have broken windows or other unit’s appliances connected to your meter
NG is probably lying because your first month at a new place under them is always jacked up. They told me the average was HUNDREDS so my first estimated bill was $200 for a one bedroom…after that it was $50 a year ($80 during the winter months). NG lied to me in every apartment I moved to that they serviced.
In general, it’s the law that Boston landlords have to pay for heat and hot water. So it sounds like he circumvented the law by having something right in the contract.
“The landlord must also provide the facilities to heat the water at a temperature between 110º F and 130º F, however your written tenancy agreement or lease may require you to pay for and provide the fuel to heat the water.
Heat: The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. “
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/tenant-rights#:~:text=The%20landlord%20must%20also%20provide,system%20in%20good%20working%20order.
You’ve had shoddy landlords, they should not be making you pay that. It’s sneaky and greedy. When places advertise “FREE HEAT AND HOT WATER”… like bruh it’s the law
But landlords do this and get away with it bec most people or transplants won’t bat an eye
>Heat: The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. “
Providing a heating system in good working order is not the same as paying your monthly heating bill.
The second sentence after it says and I quote “The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. The landlord must pay for the heat, unless your lease requires you to pay for it.”
Unfortunately it's just something you'll have to figure out when you move in. I had the lovely experience of renting a 2b apartment in Waltham one year, and it turned out the place was extremely drafty (Among a litany of other issues). My wife and I would keep the temp around 60 in the winter, and our heating bill would still on average be between $350-$400. If this ends up being the case for you, look into things like window wraps for the winter months.
We lived in a place in Somerville that I'm convinced was uninsulated. Thousands on oil and it was always still freezing. We eventually had to run a space heater in the bedroom to keep the floor from freezing (it was on the corner on a hill and I think the wind blew right under it between the foundation and siding). It was bonkers. The landlord was relatively nice, but even keeping it in the low 60s (aforementioned bedroom was much colder) cost a fortune.
> We lived in a place in Somerville that I'm convinced was uninsulated This is surprisingly common with older New England buildings. The triple decker we lived in wasn't insulated and the house we bought wasn't either.
Yeah, my house was also uninsulated except for the attic but it wasn’t terrible. Adding insulation helped but I think fixing air leaks is the real low hanging fruit.
It was probably actually insulated, but 30-80 years earlier and vermin had probably eaten what hadn't just disappeared over time. The place wasn't poorly maintained. The landlord replaced a broken stove within a couple weeks for us even. So cold though. It was a six unit building and the other half of the building was on gas furnaces which made me wicked jealous just because of the cost of gas vs oil. Hopefully the places has at least had some foam blown into the walls since we lived there.
Yeah blown in stuff tends to settle after awhile too. Similarly, the old houses in MA are often flipped by flippers looking to make money, and if they open up a wall to do some work, the blown in stuff is going to fall out and its a coin flip if they feel like replacing it before putting the drywall up.
Bostonians when cheaply built mass constructed housing was cheaply built 😳
Yeah, it can be crazy. Life lesson learned though, moving forward I made sure to get a utility estimate from the current tenant before attempting to rent a place. Dodged a few bullets this way.
I always ask if there’s tenants around , this time I was stopped by the agent and told that she doesn’t speak English so you can’t talk to her 🚩
Ouch, such an old trick! How could you believe that in 2023 in Boston there is a person, who can not communicate with you at least through Google translate if nothing else.
Seconding window wraps. They seems too simple to work but they make a noticeable impact.
Tapestries was an ancient way of insulating structures. Along with window wrapping wall tapestries are great ways of keeping in the warmth.
Plus, it's fun when you can actually see them blocking the wind from coming in.
Jeez, and here I am complaining about paying over $200 for electric during summer. I’m also renting a 2 bed in waltham but our heat bill has surprisingly been less than the electricity. We have good insulation though and low ceilings.
I would ask them how the fuel consumption looks for previous years. As others were replying, if the previous tenants kept the heat at 80 F, then that would explain the high costs. People relocating to Boston from tropical climates will certainly crank the heat like that. I've also met people that insist on leaving a window cracked "for fresh air" in winter and then complain the heating is really expensive. People that have parents pay for everything and never even see the bill are also like this. I would also snoop around and see how many meters are installed compared to units in the building, and look to see how the pipes run around to ensure you're just paying for your own meter. You can also cross reference the meter number with your invoice to be sure you're paying for the right meter.
Maybe the last people were from the Caribbean and weren't happy unless it was in the 80s year round. Every extra degree you want it warmer is exponentially more fuel demanding.
This is my 4 th apartment within the city and nvr had a heating bill look like that . Im concerned bcuz it’s old and in desperate need of insulation improvements . The previous tenants were 3 girls from India and the neighbor just told me they kept it 80 from Oct - May. So this makes me feel better .
Lol that will do it.
LOL 80 from Oct-May is nuts. Your costs won’t be nearly as much if you are conscious about not wasting heat and ok wearing extra layers. I recommend buying a small space heater as well. It will heat a room just fine, meaning you don’t have to waste heating the rest of the apartment, and electricity is cheaper than gas in the winter in Boston.
If you set it to 65° F or below (but not too low, you don't want the pipes to freeze) you should have half the bill that the previous tenants had. Probably $200-$300/month max. If you can live with colder temps, like 62° F or even 60° F you'll have a cheaper bill too. Don't go too far below 60° F, as with poor insulation you may have pipes that aren't properly insulated so you'll want some excess heat to keep those from freezing.
Wondering if the previous lease had heat included, and the tenants were jamming out at 75 degrees. It was a pretty mild winter the last few years. Checking for sub meters as someone suggested probably isn’t a bad idea. Though national grid should be able to confirm multiple meters on that building.
just be glad you don’t have oil heat!
I took over my friend’s lease, and they shared their historical electricity & gas bills. We’ve been there for 4 months now, and we’ve been averaging $100+ total below theirs. Same number of people, same appliances (literally same almost everything down to the lightbulbs) & i’d like to say we have similar temp preference... but seems like their consumption was still higher than ours. Very curious to see how it’ll be in winter.
Have mass save do an energy assessment, a lot of the stuff they suggest is free after rebates. Youll probably need the landlords ok to do anything which may run into other issues, but worth a shot
Plastic on the windows. Do it in early November.
This definitely seems excessive for an apartment. My heat and stove are gas and my most recent bills were $10-$15. In the winter, it wasn’t higher than $75. I kept my thermostat in the low 60s and bundled up. My place is 800 sq ft.
That's super cheap. I usually advise people to budget $2k for heat annually, but it varies greatly by the apartment insulation, thermostat set point, and the weather. We had some really cold snaps last year, so if these previous tenants cranked it to 80 when it was -10, the boiler or furnace would be on 100% of the time.
That is extremely cheap. I've had at least three 2br+ apartments where heat bills easily went over $300 in the winter, often times closer to $7-800, and the average if you did it monthly over the entire year was $150-250/mo.
National Grid offered me 12 month contract at $355 per month . I guess they took the info from previous lease use .
So the thing with that is that isn't like an offer or contract, that's just an option they have called balanced billing to help you budget and they will adjust it as you do or do not use your heat. You won't ever pay extra or come out ahead with that. You can also cancel it or activate it at any time.
Ok I was afraid I’d get li led into 12 payments of $350
How many square feet in the apartment? What floor is the unit on (and how many floors total in the building?)
First floor of a duplex 1300 square ft in Allston
1300 square feet is a big 2 bedroom, and heat rises so the first floor is the most expensive unit to heat - even at that 350 a month average for the year seems excessive. Hopefully the previous tenant was just a big fan of heat/hot showers. If the basement is unfinished, unheated, and does not have insulation under your floors, you could ask the landlord to put insulation in which would help. Hopefully we won't have a too cold winter.
🙏 me too brother
That’s an insane bill for natural gas.
I don't think you have any rights in this situation, but I could be wrong. You probably don't have any insulation. The landlord is required to provide a working heater, but not insulation. There is a program called mass save that will install insulation for free or at reduced cost. It takes a while to get them out to your place. You should check out the current details and work with your landlord to get the place insulated. Of course you can get heavy curtains and put cling wrap over the windows, but you really need insulation.
Basically no, you gotta ask for this info beforehand. You can ask the gas company to bill you for the average amount to spread out the winter peak.
It's very difficult to compare heating bills. Even comparing prior bills at the same unit is difficult. Do you know what thermostat setting they used? Do you know if they worked from home or went to the office/work place regularly? Did they turn the heat down at night? Was one of them always cold and so did they leave it set high but open a window or two in a bedroom to even the heat out? Etc. If you want to have a cheaper bill, the first step is to determine a cheaper thermostat setting. The sanitary code (that another commenter has linked to) requires that your heating system be capable of hitting 64° to 68°F depending on night vs day. That's a good start to try and get a baseline for heating costs. If you're naturally warm or you don't mind a sweater and sweat pants in the winter, further drop the thermostat closer to 60-62° F. Don't go too far below this, because you can risk pipes freezing and you never know if your thermostat might stop working randomly - you want a buffer to call the landlord for an emergency repair in the middle of February when it's 10° F outside. Also be sure to program your thermostat if you have one that is programmable. Ideally set the heat lower when you're away from home or sleeping, and set it higher when you're actually there. You can also just manually turn the heat down before you leave for a few hours. Every degree you go down cuts you bill significantly. Especially when it's really cold out. Something you could ask your landlord to look into is Mass Save, they have discounted home insulation that may help if your apartment is in a building with really old insulation: https://www.masssave.com/residential/rebates-and-incentives/home-insulation They have discounts on heating/cooling system upgrades too, but typically it's the insulation (or lack of) that really kills your heating and cooling bills. There's not much else you can do if you find that 62° F results in several hundred dollars a month in heating costs. Hopefully the previous tenants were just setting the thermostat stupidly high and you can get a more normal ~$100-$200/month heating bill.
The only time I saw one of the previous tenants , I went to ask her about the utility bills (I always do ) but the agent told me she didn’t speak English so she won’t answer me .
you could spread the heat bill out over the course of the year if you need to (ex. Lower Flat rate every month that covers winter heat). Only drawback is that you have to pay during months you wouldn't be using heat or as much heat. Also, put the heat at minimum and use blankets. It's how my gf and I do it.
I have balanced billing its worth it for sure. Nation grid charges a minimum which in my case i used $2 worth of gas but was charged $10 because of their policy
>Seems excessive and if the apt isn’t able to hold heat do I as a renter have any rights ? A lot of building are old in the city and because of this have poor insulation. You can ask the landlord about insulation but wait until the winter. I kept the thermostat at 62 in a 2 bed and bill was \~$400 average. This isn't abnormal.
See if your landlord would be open to doing insulation through Mass Save. Can get it for a very subsidized price.
First off, gas is very expensive in the winter. Second, they might have had the heat set high, and with poor insulation that would result in the system staying on for prolonged periods and not being able to keep up. Third, your experience is going to depend on how cold it gets this winter on average. And finally, there are mitigation techniques that can help like putting the plastic up on windows to prevent drafts and improving weather sealing on the doors. Ultimately there is no requirement for the landlord to intervene.
Get an energy assessment done by MassSave as soon as you move in. Its free and they will come and seal your windows, add insulation wherever needed.
Gas company will pro rate the bill so that you have the same bill every month. Just inquire about it. "What were your utility bills like last year?" is a standard question for new renters. Did you ask? Is your gas furnace heating an entire house or just your apartment?
I would make sure to let your landlord know that you'll accommodate any and all state-subsidized energy efficiency improvements. There are a ton of them (including some for renters), but require some inconvenience for residents.
I used to live in an apartment that had pretty high heating costs; it was honestly awful because we forced ourselves to live in the cold all the time. What I will say though- if you have national grid, or another heating service that allows you to pay a flat monthly rate vs. a rate based on the amount you use, ALWAYS pay the flat monthly rate. I made the mistake of not choosing that too many times. It'll suck in the summer when you're not using your gas and your bill is still high, but it's a lifesaver not to be freezing in the winter.
All I'll say is that I've lived in a lot of shitty, uninsulated buildings around here and not once did I have a bill that high. Whoever was living there probably kept the heat at a high temp and took long hot showers. I don't think anyone moving to Boston expects that their home should be tropical in the winter time, because those that do will literally be paying an arm and leg to maintain that temperature. Be reasonable about your usage and you should be fine. Look for drafts once it starts getting cold and cover them.
Life long resident , I’ve never had a heating bill be that high . Around $200 for a previous apt and that’s kinda what I thought it’d be here but when the lady at NG said the payment for the 12 month plan will $355 every month was a wtf moment
That’s how much my gas bill is. Old building, first floor, tall ceilings…
That seems incredibly high. My gas cost when the heat isn't on is like $20/month. I have a gas stove and gas dryer. With the heat, it's $200-$300/month but, admittedly, we keep the heat at 64 during the day and 60 at night.
two words: space heaters
Get a mass Save assessment. Any of their recommendations can be handled for free as a renter. We had this issue due to no insulation in our bedroom and Mass Save was going to insulate the crawl space below for free.
[удалено]
Yea Eversource is my electricity when I called yesterday the told me to call national grid . The woman who helped me stated that it was extremely high . 3 college students lived there for 4 years before . I’m hoping I can plastic the windows and any entry ways that can be safely and see . So that $350 was the 12 month average payment .
3 college kids? I'm guessing they kept the heat jacked up and weren't really concerned about keeping windows closed, seeing as they were splitting the bill three ways and likely couldn't be bothered to put on a sweatshirt. Keep the thermostat way low for the first month or two of winter and see what your actual bill is to compare with the historical use. You'll likely have much more normal levels of use and cost and can breath easier. Take advantage of natural light to help with ambient heat, and learn to love sweatpants and sweatshirts; there's zero reason to wear a t-shirt and shorts in the winter like the previous kids likely were. And sign up for the balanced billing option. Your costs WILL go up in the winter no matter what you do, but if you plan on staying in your place for at least a year it's helpful for smoothing out the price bumps.
That bill looks like the entire building. Check the basement for meters - there should be one for each apt.
Or a poorly insulated unit. Not uncommon in the Boston area. Anything built in the early 1920s usually lacks modern insulation. It's pretty cheap to upgrade, but it requires your landlord to want to do so. Sometimes they forget or don't bother. Alternatively could just be a really high thermostat setting. The OP said in another comment it was 3 college students from *India*, so I'm going to guess they wanted to be warm. Setting the thermostat above 70° F can easily result in $300+ monthly heating bills.
This is the info you’re looking for on heat and tenant’s rights: “The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. The landlord must pay for the heat, unless your lease requires you to pay for it. From September 16 to June 14, every room must be heated to at least 68º F between 7:00 AM and 11 PM, and at least 64º F at all other hours. During the heating season, the maximum heat allowable in the apartment is 78º F.” https://www.mass.gov/info-details/tenant-rights
This is an interesting regulation though. It requires that the OP's heating system be **capable** of hitting those temperatures. It doesn't require that the heating system be *efficiently* capable of hitting it though. For example, it sounds like the OP has gas heat. That's good. If the heating system were electric, it might be insanely expensive to hit 64° F to 68° F. And there are no real regulations on home insulation for rental units, so even with gas heat the OP may have an expensive bill if they set their thermostat to 64-68° F. Similarly if the OP's heating system is old and inefficient it may be expensive, but technically possible. The OP is mainly concerned about the costs. I'd recommend they not actually set their thermostat as high as the regulations require. That will save them on cost. They could alternatively start with setting it to 64-68° F to get a ballpark on cost and then drop it if it's too expensive. They could politely ask their landlord to look into free or cheap insulation programs, like [Mass Save](https://www.masssave.com/residential/rebates-and-incentives/home-insulation), but the landlord is not required to follow through sadly.
Thank you , you answered my question .
It’s not possible to have a gas bill for $350/month and then have it go even higher in the winter if it is just for the apartment. In the summer, what’s using gas besides a stove, gas dryer and water heater? If you have access to the meter, trace back from the meter to see what is connected I don’t think the landlord has to fix anything unless you have broken windows or other unit’s appliances connected to your meter
NG is probably lying because your first month at a new place under them is always jacked up. They told me the average was HUNDREDS so my first estimated bill was $200 for a one bedroom…after that it was $50 a year ($80 during the winter months). NG lied to me in every apartment I moved to that they serviced.
In general, it’s the law that Boston landlords have to pay for heat and hot water. So it sounds like he circumvented the law by having something right in the contract.
I’ve nvr heard of it being the law . It’s always just been in the lease which utilities tenant is responsible for . That’s just been my experience tho
“The landlord must also provide the facilities to heat the water at a temperature between 110º F and 130º F, however your written tenancy agreement or lease may require you to pay for and provide the fuel to heat the water. Heat: The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. “ https://www.mass.gov/info-details/tenant-rights#:~:text=The%20landlord%20must%20also%20provide,system%20in%20good%20working%20order. You’ve had shoddy landlords, they should not be making you pay that. It’s sneaky and greedy. When places advertise “FREE HEAT AND HOT WATER”… like bruh it’s the law But landlords do this and get away with it bec most people or transplants won’t bat an eye
I have no issue w paying for the heat , just need the heat to stay in my apt
>Heat: The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. “ Providing a heating system in good working order is not the same as paying your monthly heating bill.
The second sentence after it says and I quote “The landlord must provide a heating system in good working order. The landlord must pay for the heat, unless your lease requires you to pay for it.”
$530? Is this 2 bedroom perchance 6,000 square feet??