Residents at complex without central heat say space heaters are breaking the bank

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Our team reached out to City Code Enforcement to see if a local landlord that supplied a complex with space heaters, while central heat was being fixed, is breaking any laws.

Tenants living at the University Village Apartments have gone since November 29 without central heat.

“It’s been a very big struggle,” said one resident.

But management says it’ll soon be over. A custom-made pipe has been built, and the heat should be back on by December 23.

In the meantime, they’ve supplied each apartment with a 1,500-watt heater.

The product’s online description says it heats 160 square feet, which is about a quarter of the space in most units.

But, management said they’ll give apartments another heater if they ask.

The problem? Those residents say that one heater is already making their electric bill skyrocket.

“I did look at my usage online and days that I had to use it more often, my electric use doubled from a normal day before this happened,” said another resident.

City Code Enforcement told us that this doesn’t fall under their territory because the apartment is still live-able.

“What we look at, for us, the physical conditions, and what’s being implemented to solve the problem permanently," said Mitch Hammes, who serves at the Neighborhood Services Manager. "Any financial discrepancies between the landlord and tenant is strictly their issue to deal with, the city does not get involved in that."

So what can tenants do about the high electric bills?

It's considered a civil matter, so legal experts say you can take the landlord to court to try to get them to pay your electric bills.

Management said in a statement that they’re considering compensation for the space heater bills, but have not yet made a decision on the matter.