HOA president demands condo manager turn on the heating for all units, despite tenants claiming it's too hot, resulting in dispute when manager complies: ‘Tenants were furious’

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Oct 23, 2025 7:00 PM EDT

One of the biggest disadvantages of living in an apartment building, especially if it's a part of the HOA, is that many decisions regarding your own living situation get made for you.

Exactly like what happened in the story below. In this NYC condo, there is central heating for all of the units in the building. The condo manager turns the heating on when the weather gets cold enough, and then turns it off when spring comes. The tenants all agreed that instead of turning the heating on on October 1st, like it is stated in NYC law, they prefer to wait until the days actually get colder. However, this joint decision did not sit well with the HOA president, who decided to ignore the tenants' wishes and demand that the condo manager turn on the heating on October 1st anyway.

The manager complied, and in the latest tenants meeting, this decision led to quite a dispute when everyone found out about their HOA president's doings. She just took the decision right out of their hands regarding something that happens in all of their homes, and that was not okay.

Scroll down to read what happened later in this meeting and how the tenants taught their HOA president a lesson for going behind their backs.

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  • 01
    Group of neighbors take a vote during HOA meeting
    via SDI Productions

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    HOA President wanted heat!

    I manage a NYC condo with central A/C that, once switched to winter mode, can't go back to cooling until spring.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 03
    NYC law requires heat starting October 1st, but October swings from chilly to unseasonably warm, so we usually wait for a real cold stretch before turning it on.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 04
    Tenants were fine with this for years ― one chilly day was better than being unbearably hot for ten.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 05
    Last year, the board president lost it over a slightly chilly day towards the middle of October .
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 06
    She sent an email demanding we turn on the heating system immediately and that going forward, the heat must always be on by October 1st - she didn't care if other units would be uncomfortably warm and that she's the board president, & she should be comfortable in her unit.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 07
    This year, we followed her orders, on October 1st - heat on. At the annual meeting, tenants were furious.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 08
    They wanted to know why a system that had worked for years was suddenly "broken." The president started chewing me out forgetting her email the previous year.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 09
    Woman Struggling with Summer Heat
    via Alliance Images

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 10
    Not wanting to deal with her nonsense, I got the green light from my boss to pull up her own email on the projector.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 11
    Her exact words, her exact demands. She went pale and, for the first time ever, had nothing to say.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 12
    She lost her position in the election. Her replacement was very happy we called her out, and we renewed our contract for five more years
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 13
    Booter TooterBravo The First Commandment of Business is "Cover Thy Ass"
    via BooterTooterBravo
  • 14
    OP Bright_Media1429 And if your going to be a horrible person don't put it in writing
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 15
    Peacemkr45 Most HOA presidents are wannabe tyrants and will take that role to impose their viewpoints on everyone.
    via Peacemkr45
  • 16
    OP Bright_Media 1429 100% I have a dozen more stories I can post on here.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 17
    avspuk Can't the tenants control the radiators in their own home? Even if there's a central boiler they could turn their radiators off
    via avspuk
  • 18
    OP Bright_Media 1429 Nope. When they close the cooling tower it's a full day to prep to turn on heating
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 19
    OP Bright_Media1429 Picture this, 20 story building with 19 units on each floor., average unit has two HVAC units in them. Cold water is circulated to cooling tower on roof where heat is expelled and water is chilled then goes to these units. When we turn the heat on we need to turn off winterize cooling system. Then turn on heating system that is heated from the boiler in the basement. Lot of valves need to be open and closed. It's not as easy smaller building.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 20
    wilsonhammer Interesting. How long does the changeover process take?
    via wilsonhammer
  • 21
    OP Bright_Media 1429 A day
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 22
    megared17 Sounds like a system design issue. There's no reason the whole system or even individual apartments could not choose whatever temperature they want and get heat or cool as needed. Heck if some apartments wanted cool, and others wanted heat, it could even save energy by pumping the heat from those that wanted cool, to the ones that wanted heat.
    via megared17
  • 23
    OP Bright_Media 1429 Big flaw!
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 24
    OneSkepticalOwl Someone explain to me like I'm 5, what HVAC system cannot be switched to a mode as desired? What system does not have an auto mode that provides heat or cooling as needed?
    via OneSkepticalOwl
  • 25
    OP Bright_Media 1429 Our central A/C is connected to the building's cooling tower. Once we switch it to winter mode, the system redirects water through the heating loop, shuts down the chillers, and adjusts valves for heat only. Because of this. physical configuration, it can't be switched back to cooling until
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 26
    OneSkepticalOwl I get that part, what I don't get, if you can switch it between heat and cooling once a year, why can't you switch it as needed. Why isn't it automated or done by the super
    via OneSkepticalOwl
  • 27
    OP Bright_Media1429 Cause it takes almost a full day to switch it over.
    via Bright_Media1429
  • 28
    Impossible_Angle 752 At work this year we've been getting a lot of orders that don't make sense because the work will have to be redone in the spring. Meaning someone (the city) will have to pay to get it redone and every time my boss has a meeting he tells the person making the call that he wants the decision in an email before we do anything.
    via Impossible_Angle752

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hoa aita neighbors Heat malicious compliance house neighborhood neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories reddit story petty entitled building Reddit entitled people apartment
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