A Clayton County man says he has been suffering through the bitter cold temperatures with no heat in his home.
Melvin Jenkins tells 11Alive his heat has been broken since early November, but his landlord refuses to fix it. He's been relying on his single space heater to keep his home warm.
"The little heater we got looks like it's about burned out because we been keeping it on 24/7," he told 11Alive.
We reached out to the landlord, who admitted that there's no heat but says he has no plans to fix it. The landlord tells 11Alive Jenkins is behind on his rent and prefers space heaters, something Jenkins denies.
Regardless of who's right and who's wrong, tenants still do have rights when they rent.
According to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, renters still have to pay rent, even if they have no heat. However, the landlord does have to keep electric, plumbing and heating equipment in working order.
If the equipment is not in working order, the renter should file a complaint with their city or county's housing inspector.
