Gas leaks are a serious problem that should be taken care of immediately. People who rent their homes should be able to rely on their landlords to address dangerous maintenance issues. However, one Reddit user is facing neglect.
In a post on r/Tenant, they detailed the hazard they were dealing with: The property's dryer had been leaking gas. Despite bringing it up to their landlord, they said they received little help.
They explained that despite their new roommates smelling gas in their apartment for months from their dryer, their landlord had not yet fixed the problem. The original poster said they then called the gas company, which said the dryer was installed improperly. Now, they and their roommates were living in a home in danger of a fire or explosion because of the leak.
"[The] gas company put a red tag on it and said we would have to pay the fees," the user wrote in the caption.
This is an important example of how appliances that rely on dirty energy sources like natural gas and oil pose health and safety risks. For example, natural gas stoves have been identified as a source of nitrogen dioxide, which is harmful to human health and rarely measured indoors, as explained in Scientific American.
What's more, landlords are notorious for being difficult when it comes to making beneficial changes. Whether it is failing to ensure proper cleaning of ventilation systems to prevent wildfire smoke from getting into an apartment or not allowing tenants to hang dry clothes to reduce energy bills, these stories are unfortunately common.
Users in the comment section were helpful in suggesting options the OP could try to get the issue solved.
"I can almost guarantee that the landlord is completely bound to fix this, as this isn't a minor repair but a safety/housing code situation," wrote one user.
"Call the buildings dept. they will come out and give the landlord a citation," added another user.
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