Landlord Insists Tenant Shower at Odd Intervals To ‘Catch Hot Water'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jun 5, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

If you have to "catch" the hot water, something is deeply wrong. 

There is nothing more frustrating than turning on your water to shower, only to realize that the hot water is never coming. Your soul is immediately crushed. That's what happened to the tenant in this story shared on the r/renters subreddit. You wonder if it's just taking a while to heat up, but in your heart, you know the truth. The hot water is not coming. You know something is wrong. You're standing there, ready to wash away all the grime of the day, wondering what you can do. It's a terrible thing. And when you don't own the home (as many of us don't), then you have very little control over what gets fixed in your house and when. You rely on a landlord to take care of those things, and they're often pretty bad at their jobs. They have you cornered. They know you need a place to live, so they try to get away with as much as they can. They make you put up with stuff you would never put up with if it were anyone else. What do you mean, I have to shower at specific times? As far as I know, I'm not in jail. I'm in an apartment that I pay way too much for, and you should probably figure out what is going on with the hot water. It's really not that much to ask. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10636121088
    via Unsplash+ (Ramsés Cervantes)

    A woman applies skincare in the bathroom

  • 02

    Landlord told me I need to shower at odd times to "catch hot water."

    There is never any hot water in my apartment after 8pm. I have no idea why this is since I've lived here several years and never had any issues. Landlord told me to stop showering or needing hot water after 8pm!
    via vftgurl123
  • 03
    A normal human being would purchase a larger water heater but I guess because I only pay $1200 for a moldy run down. shack I don't deserve it.
    via vftgurl123

  • The person in this story found themselves in a difficult situation, where it seemed like their landlord was asking them to do something impossible. You want to be able to take a hot shower whenever you're home. That's part of the promise of renting an apartment. If they aren't providing that for you, then there is not a lot of ground they have to stand on. But that's what was happening here. The tenant was left wondering what they could do about it. Keep reading to see what happened and decide what you think.

  • 04

    Commenters gave their takes on this.

    PORt1ng4Duty Someone else already said this, but your landlord is shutting off the hot water every night. It's not legal and your local housing authority code enforcement office will be able to sort this quickly if they come out to take a look.
    via PORt1ng4Duty
  • 05
    Solid_Assumption7160 Time to start looking for a better apartment.... Your landlord is a slumlord
    via Solid_Assumption7160
  • 06
    Crystal_Ri The landlord may be attempting to save on utility bills using a timer that is either out of his/her control or within it. Either way, ask the landlord to adjust it to something reasonable. No hot showers unless before 8pm is not reasonable to most people.
    via Crystal_Ri
  • 07
    Otherwise, find a new place to live where you control your own utilities.
    via Crystal_Ri
  • 08
    Cheezburger Image 10636121344
    via Unsplash+ (Ramsés Cervantes)

    A woman wraps a towel around her wet hair

  • 09
    Weary_Restauranter The law obligates him to provide CONSISTENTLY available hot water, not intermittently.
    via Weary_Restauranter
  • 10
    Sensitive_Scholar_17 Landlord went from a conventional water heater to instant. He does not know how to set up the instant and it is shutting off at certain times. However, you may be able to let the water run for 5 minutes and it may get hot.
    via Sensitive_Scholar_17
  • 11
    FairyFartDaydreams Hot water heaters have timers. He is shutting it off on you
    via FairyFartDaydreams
  • 12
    Mr_Ariyeh I agree with two other commentators to find another place to live.
    via Mr_Ariyeh
  • 13
    WissahickonKid I would start looking for a new place but also maybe consult an attorney. If you are well prepared with documentation, it might not be too expensive to pay one to write a letter demanding
    via WissahickonKid
  • 14
    that the landlord uphold the lease. In places where I have lived, provision of heat & hot water were stipulated in the lease (of course tenant is expected to pay on time, but if they have, not providing either is a violation of the lease).
    via WissahickonKid
  • 15
    Solid_Milk3104 They have a timer on the water heater to shut it off around 7-8pm if they are manually operated. Check the water heater closet and see if you can find the timer
    via Solid_Milk3104
  • 16
    and if you do turn the timer off. You could have Chat GPT read your lease and then write a letter of demand to correct the deficiency.
    via Solid_Milk3104
  • 17
    renmyaru Check that the hot water isnt running through pvc pipes, that happened at an old cheap place i used to live. Had to restart pilot one day and the line burst when put on medium.
    via renmyaru
  • 18
    garster25 Not a larger tank, but a tankless water heater. Endless hot water. But yeah, illegal.
    via garster25

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