we downsized from a house to an apartment to save money on rent and utilities. The first week in the water heater leaked all over the floor. Supposedly it was replaced with a new one but I think that was not the case because when I saw my electric bill it was three times higher than it ever was at the homes I had rented. When I told the landlord something must be wrong with the electrical they said its our problem to figure out. When I contacted the power company they asked if we ran out of hot water or if the water heater was recently replaced when we said we do they immediately knew the problem was the water heater. I told my landlord and they replaced the elements, and when that still didn't fix the cold shower issue or power usage they replaced the water heater unit. When I told my landlord I want a credit on my rent for the extra power due to the faulty water heater she said she doesn't allow that. I had the power company come out and verify the usage went down and coincided with the replaced water heater. I'm taking the credit for the difference in power usage cost and afraid the landlord will evict us and at the least give us a bad reference when we find a new place. When we moved into our apartment we were told by the landlord they are working to make energy efficiency improvements and that is why there are no screens on the windows. after 3 months no new windows. Seems this landlord only cares about energy efficiency if it pads their pocket. Can I get evicted for taking a credit on the difference in power usage and can I retaliate for a bad reference?
