HEAT AND AC

Residents of 3003 Van Ness often are forced to deal with interruptions in heat, air conditioning and hot water. These problems sometimes last for two or three days.

Equity Residential also appears to provide less heating and cooling to apartments than is necessary to keep them comfortable.

Heat

The good news is that all utilities — heating, cooling and electricity — are included in the rent. The bad news is that tenants don’t always get enough of them.

Tenants have only partial control of heating and cooling via thermostats in their apartments. However, because heating and cooling are provided centrally and controlled off-site, the heat often isn’t turned on building-wide until after it is quite cold.

For some apartments, the heat that is provided isn’t sufficient — setting the thermostat at the maximum temperature doesn’t make the apartment warm enough for comfort. For others, the heat is adequate.

Air conditioning

Residents complain of similar problems with air conditioning as with hot water — it is turned on too late into the spring when the weather already is hot, not enough of it is provided, and there are frequent interruptions.

The air conditioning at 3003 Van Ness isn’t “real” air conditioning — it doesn’t pull water from the air in order to lower ambient temperature. Instead, it merely blows cool air into apartments. Some residents find that it helps to use a dehumidifier to provide extra cooling.

Hot water

There also have been frequent disruptions in the supply of hot water. For example, in 2021, there was no hot water on at least the following days — Jan. 21-22, April 15, Oct. 28, Nov. 17-18, and Nov. 27-30.