I live in a two tenant house. The upstairs neighbors keep blowing the circuit. Last night at least 2 went down. The landlord said that it's impossible for 2 different breakers to go without shutting power down to the whole house. He also said that they think I intentionally shut the breakers down and that this is a criminal offense. I know nothing about breakers (only to reset them). Is it possible for more than one breaker to trip without shutting power to the whole house down?
By Diane
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Yes, it is possible. It used to happen here all the time. Whenever anything was on and someone used the toaster, the breaker for the kitchen outlets and the breaker for the lights would click off. The electrician said they were "cross wired". We had a new panel put in with more breakers and everything rewired, and the problem was fixed. He just doesn't want to spend the money. It's a fire hazard. You should report the problem to your local rentals board.
Absolutely agree with everything Dena said! This landlord is trying to dodge the cost of having the house electricity supply brought into the 21st century. If he doesn't get it fixed within a week report him - this really is a fire hazard!
It's also seems he might be trying to cause trouble between you and your fellow tenants - you might want to make a point of talking to them so they know this is nothing you're doing. Then all of you can work together to make sure your landlord upholds his contractual obligations to maintain the wiring to a safe standard.
If you decide to move because of unsafe conditions, under most US state tenant-landlord laws you are not liable to any charges owing to breaking any lease. Don't let this creep intimidate you into paying a cent, this is HIS problem - multiple circuits being blown is not only possible, it means there are very serious problems with the wiring.
Check your lease - no tenant is ever responsible for faulty wiring unless they can be proved to have illegally tampered with it. Should the property catch fire the subsequent investigation by the fire department will prove tampering or that the wiring was deficient and sub-standard - can't fool FD (or insurance) investigators. Many have tried, all have failed.
Consult your local legal aid group, you do have a case.
I wonder - does your landlord even have proper zoning permission to be renting a multi-family property? You might want to check on that.
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