When new owners took control of the 36 unit apartment building where “Steve” lived, they completely shut off the boiler which supplied heat to the entire building. Tenant requests for repairs went unanswered and the heat remained off for eight months. Space heaters were not an option, as they would blow the breakers in the building and cut off electricity for everyone. Steve finally contacted legal aid. After additional attempts to work with the landlord failed, legal aid filed a lawsuit on Steve’s behalf. The litigation was successful, Steve was awarded modest money damages, and the heat remains on for all of the tenants in the building. After the lawsuit, several elderly tenants in the building thanked Steve, saying that they were too afraid of the landlords to challenge them, but that they appreciated what he and legal aid did for everyone.
