Oklahoma Judge Rules Apartment Complex Without Heat Does Not Have to Pay Rent

An Oklahoma City apartment complex has been without heat for months and tenants got a big win in court this week.

The Foxcroft Apartments in Oklahoma City has not had heat for their residents since September. This is apparently due to a gas leak in the building and they have had to shut off the heat for everyone due to this. A gas leak is a very serious issue, but in almost five months they still can't find out what's wrong?

According to the defense attorney for the apartment complex, the previous owner of the apartments never mapped out where the complex’s gas lines are and that’s making it difficult to find the gas leak causing the heating failure. Now these residents have gone through the fall and most of the winter with no heat. We all know more cold weeks always arrive in February for us.

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A judge has now ruled that as long as the heat is off, no resident has to pay rent. The apartment complex can also not evict any resident as long as the heat is off. This is a temporary injunction, once heat is restored, rent payments will begin again. The residents do consider this a win, however, they're still going home to an apartment with no heat every day.

The tenants of Foxcroft are also suing the complex’s owner and property management for damages. We will see if those cases go anywhere in the near future.