Took me 3 years to get my landlord to fix a leaky window that was ruining my heating bill

I live in a small apartment in Portland and had this old single-pane window that leaked air like crazy. My heating bill was hitting $200 a month during winter because the heat just escaped. I kept bugging my landlord about it and he kept saying "next month" for like 2 years straight. Finally I sent him photos of the mold growing on the sill and the exact dollar amounts from my electric bills. He sent a guy out last month who caulked it and added weather stripping in 20 minutes. Now my bill dropped to $90 and I wish I had pushed harder sooner. Has anyone else dealt with a landlord dragging their feet on basic energy efficiency stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

skylergrant17d ago

True, but you ever noticed how even a small draft makes the furnace run way more often... did you check the cycle times before and after the fix or just the bill?

palmer.ryan17d ago

You're saying the bill dropped from $200 to $90 just from some caulk and weather stripping. That's a pretty big swing for a 20 minute fix. I've lived in old drafty places before and honestly sometimes the temp difference is more in your head than on the thermostat. My buddy spent a whole winter complaining about a leaky window and then realized his heater was set to 75 the whole time. Are you sure the landlord didn't just tweak the furnace settings or something while they were there?