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Tenant costs for replacing circuit breaker in a condo

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  • Jan 24th, 2022 10:43 am
Deal Expert
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Feb 11, 2007
21248 posts
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GTA
fractall wrote: I have tried resetting the breaker. Basically turning on and off all the switches on the breaker 3 times each (that's what the landlord advised, after I told her resetting them did not fix the problem). The conclusion we came to is that wire inside the particular breaker may be melted, and that a certified electrician needs to look at it. Which I am completely fine with, but don't understand how this becomes our fault.

These aren't glass fuses (I have those in my apartment).

I don't know much about the method of heating here, but it runs on electricity, which is entirely paid by the tenant.
Does the breaker stay on when you flip it? Just no power to the outlets?
Does the landlord know it blew because of 2 space heaters? If he does he may claim negligence on your part, but he doesn't have a case as the breaker should fail first.
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Deal Fanatic
Jul 4, 2004
9473 posts
2650 upvotes
Nice try, this is a maintenance/landlord issue. What a b@stard. Since when are the tenants responsible for general upkeep/repairs and building maintenance unless specifically agreed to contractually?
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Member
Nov 3, 2015
281 posts
58 upvotes
Clarkson, ON
engineered wrote: Does the breaker stay on when you flip it? Just no power to the outlets?
Does the landlord know it blew because of 2 space heaters? If he does he may claim negligence on your part, but he doesn't have a case as the breaker should fail first.
Yeah the breaker stays on. What does that mean?

We haven't mentioned that yet, just said we connected space heaters. But we will tell her exactly what was going. I can kind of understand that point if both heaters were connected to the same plug point or even near each other. But in two different rooms? There is no way for us to know that it would cause a short circuit. And as you said, the breaker should fail first.
Member
Nov 3, 2015
281 posts
58 upvotes
Clarkson, ON
fergy wrote: OK, assuming it's a really old heat pump as Google doesn't come up with it. Old heat pumps like that don't work well in cold weather and will produce less and less heat as the temperature drops. The best thing would be if it stopped working and was replaced with a modern cold climate heat pump. With one of those, electric heat would only be a backup for extremely cold weather.
That would be great if they replaced it. But this landlord seems more interested in upgrading counter tops and doing a facelift on the unit, than actual overdue maintenance. Unfortunately the previous tenants didn't tell us anything about the lack of heat, even though we asked them when viewing the condo. If only there was a way to rate individual condo units/landlords. I wouldn't want the next tenant to have to suffer through the same hassle my gf is.
Member
Nov 3, 2015
281 posts
58 upvotes
Clarkson, ON
Cheapo-Findo wrote: Contact maintenance, could be a breaker that needs to be reset on controller room, not the one in your unit.
I would think the landlord would suggest if that was the case. However I wouldn't be surprised if she has no clue as to what's going on. After she asked to try every switch, she basically said a certified electrician will be needed to fix it.
Deal Addict
Jun 4, 2013
1982 posts
1028 upvotes
Vancouver
Had this happen a few times when I use a space heater. Reset the breaker fix the issue but again can't use the space heater. The DJ also looks burnt so I replace it and now is no longer an issuer. Sometimes the builder use cheap ass DJ which can't handle the load.
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Aug 3, 2006
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fractall wrote: Thank you. I'm not sure about the cost of running the space heaters, but I can't imagine it being more than 100$ month.
Some back of a napkin math here... Let's say your space heater is 1500w (typical) and you're running it 12 hours a day every day of the month (a bit of an extreme case just for example). If your off peak electricity rate is 8.2 ¢/kWh and on peak is 17.0 ¢/kWh, then you would be paying in the range of $45-93/month just for the space heater before delivery charges. Reality is you likely wouldn't have it (or a similar air conditioner) running every single day. If you can afford it then running the space heater isn't a huge additional cost.
Member
Feb 11, 2009
413 posts
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when some of the older breakers trip, they move to a "Middle" position. You can't simply switch it back on. You need to flip the breaker OFF, and then ON again for it to properly reset
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Jul 5, 2004
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fractall wrote: That would be great if they replaced it. But this landlord seems more interested in upgrading counter tops and doing a facelift on the unit, than actual overdue maintenance. Unfortunately the previous tenants didn't tell us anything about the lack of heat, even though we asked them when viewing the condo. If only there was a way to rate individual condo units/landlords. I wouldn't want the next tenant to have to suffer through the same hassle my gf is.
You need to contact the landlord and tenant board. They exist for a reason.
They will help you

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