No Heat in Your Apartment: Get Help and Know Your Rights
No heat in cold weather is treated as an emergency in most places, not a routine repair. If it's dangerously cold, get safe first and call for help — then document the problem and notify your landlord in writing. Renter Shield can show you the exact rule for your state.
Educational — information, not legal advice, and not attorney-reviewed. The exact rule depends on your state, city, and lease; the app shows the verified rule for where you live.
What this means
If it's dangerously cold inside your home right now, treat this as an emergency, not a repair ticket. If you or anyone in your home is at risk from the cold — especially infants, older adults, or anyone with a health condition — go somewhere warm and call 211 for emergency shelter or warming-center options. If you smell gas, or you're using a stove, oven, or a generator indoors to stay warm, get out and call 911 immediately — those are carbon monoxide and fire risks, not safe substitutes for heat.
Once everyone is safe, know that heat is treated as one of the most basic habitability requirements almost everywhere in the country. A rental without working heat during cold weather is generally considered unsafe and unlivable, not a minor inconvenience.
Because losing heat is urgent, many places move faster on heat complaints than on other repair issues, and some require landlords to provide a temporary alternative, like space heaters, while a permanent fix is arranged. Exactly how fast, and what's required, depends on your state and city — Renter Shield shows the specific rule for where you live instead of leaving you to guess.
If a broken furnace or boiler affects your whole building, other tenants are dealing with the same problem — reporting it in writing on the record protects you, whether or not anyone else does the same.
What to do
- If the cold is dangerous right now, get somewhere warm first — call 211 for emergency shelter or warming centers, and call 911 if there's a gas smell or anyone is using unsafe indoor heating like a stove, oven, or generator.
- Once you're safe, notify your landlord in writing that you have no heat, including when it went out and the indoor temperature if you can check it.
- Ask your landlord in writing for a temporary fix, like a space heater, while the permanent repair is arranged.
- Keep a simple log of dates, indoor conditions, and every reply (or non-reply) from your landlord.
- If your building has a heat complaint hotline or code-enforcement option, Renter Shield can show you whether that applies where you live and how to use it.
- If nothing changes and it stays unsafe, contact lawhelp.org or 211 for free local help — you don't need to handle a no-heat emergency alone.
What to do next
Utility shutoff protections, requesting repairs in writing, retaliation protection, emergency housing and shelter resources
Free help — always free
- Call 211 · in a crisis, call or text 988 (or 211.org) for local help and referrals.
- Find free legal aid at lawhelp.org.
- Read HUD tenant rights.
- Call 911 in an emergency.
Know exactly where you stand.
Renter Shield shows your state's verified rule, drafts calm letters, tracks deadlines, and keeps your evidence private on your device — free to start.