Extremely Old Boilers Costing me Loads

Anon-
There are no such laws that require landlords to replace the furnance or boiler. The landlord is required to keep such items in usable condition. To replace the boiler can be an extremely expensive thing for your landlord, so most likely you will have little luck getting her to agree to it. I would chalk this up to a learning experience. In the future do your due diligance before renting.

I was just going to mention that even if the boiler is replaced, it doesn’t mean it will lower your utility bills a whole lot. While it is true that newer boilers are going to be more energy effecient, it will maybe account for a 8 to 12% difference if that.
It would make more sense to look at insulation issues.
Does the unit have double paned windows?
Are the walls insulated?
How much insulation is in the attic?
Is warm air escaping through cracks in doors or windows?
And most importantly, are you being frugal with the thermostat? (68 to 72 degrees)
There are a lot of things you can do to cut back on cost. I would dare say that the boiler is the least of the problem. (Of coarse a furnance guy is going to tell you it needs to be replaced!)

I forgot to mention… you may be able to find a digital thermastat that allows you to program when the heat comes on. This allows you to have the heat turned down automatically when you’re sleeping or at work, which can make a huge difference in your heating bills. When you turn the heat down to 50 or 60 degrees when you’re away, it will save you a bunch!
I’ve added these thermostats to some of my rentals, and it has helped my tenants out a lot. You can buy them at home depot for around $35 to $50. They are easy to install. However, you will have to check to see what type of a system your thermostat uses, you may have to go to a specialty plumbing store.
Good Luck!
(P.S. I live and own rentals in Idaho, where it gets pretty cold… so we are always trying to cut back on heating cost when possible)

I’ve lived in an old rental apartment building with the same type of problem. I tried to get my property manager to do something about it, but they told me they couldn’t. After a long debate we did get them to put in double pane windows. The old single pane windows made the unit drafty and I’m certain a ton of heat was escaping through them. The new windows have helped eliminate the cold draft problems, so now I don’t have the heat up nearly as much. It did save a good $15 per month on my heating bills. So like the landlord guy said earlier, you may need to consider making the apartment more effecient, rather than the actual boiler.
Jessica