§ 17-103 — Truth in heating

§ 17-103. Truth in heating. 1. (a) On or after January first,\nnineteen hundred eighty-one, the seller of a residential structure\nshall, within fifteen days of receipt of a written request from a\nprospective purchaser, furnish such purchaser a complete set of heating\nand/or cooling bills, or a summary of such heating and/or cooling bills,\nfor the life of the structure or for the preceding two years, whichever\nis shorter. A seller need not honor a request for heating or cooling\nbills if such request is initially made after the signing of a purchase\ncontract.\n (b) (1) On or after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-four, the\nseller of a residential structure shall, within fifteen days of receipt\nof a written request from a prospective purchaser, furnish such\npurchaser with a statement of the following:\n (i) The type and areas of insulation installed by the seller in such\nstructure during his ownership.\n (ii) The type and areas of insulation installed in such structure by\nany previous owner, known to the seller.\n (iii) As used in this paragraph, "insulation" shall include but shall\nnot be limited to any type of material permanently placed within or\ncontiguous to a wall, ceiling or floor of a room or building for the\npurpose of reducing heat transfer and thus the energy requirements for\nheating and cooling the building.\n (2) The seller need not honor a request for the information described\nin this paragraph if such request is initially made after the signing of\na purchase contract.\n (3) A seller shall be subject to the imposition of penalties under\nthis article, including section 5-119, for failure to provide the\nstatement required by subparagraph one of this paragraph.\n (4) The commissioner shall not evaluate the sufficiency or accuracy of\nany statement concerning insulation furnished, pursuant to this\nparagraph, to a prospective purchaser.\n (c) On or after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-one, the lessor\nof a residential structure where the lessee is responsible for payment\nof the heating and/or cooling bills shall, immediately upon receipt of a\nrequest from a prospective lessee, furnish such lessee a complete set of\nheating and/or cooling bills, or a summary of heating and/or cooling\nbills, for the life of the structure or for the preceding two years,\nwhichever is shorter.\n (d) All heating and/or cooling bills furnished by a seller or lessor\nshall indicate whether the residential structure was occupied during the\nperiod of time for which the heating and/or cooling bills are supplied.\n (e) A seller who lacks all or part of such heating and/or cooling\nbills shall request the retail vendor of fuel or utility services to\nprovide such seller with a complete set of heating and/or cooling bills,\nor a summary thereof. Where a seller is still unable to furnish a\nprospective purchaser with a complete set of heating and/or cooling\nbills, or a summary thereof, he shall nevertheless provide the\nprospective purchaser with whatever records he has been able to obtain,\nor a summary thereof, and indicate which periods of time and/or which\nfuel or utility services are not covered by the incomplete records or\nsummary provided.\n (f) No charge or fee shall be imposed on any purchaser or lessee by\nany seller or lessor for furnishing heating and/or cooling bills or\nsummaries thereof pursuant to the provisions of this section. No lessor\nor seller shall disclose the name of a tenant in connection with the\nfurnishing of heating and/or cooling bills or summaries thereof without\nthe consent of such tenant.\n 2. (a) Every retail vendor of fuel or utility services used for\nheating and/or cooling residential structures shall maintain records of\nthe cost of fuel or utility services provided such structures for at\nleast two calendar years.\n (b) Within ten days after receiving a request from the seller or\nlessor of a residential structure, a retail vendor shall furnish such\nowner with duplicate copies of the heating and/or cooling bills, or a\nsummary of the heating and/or cooling bills, for the life of the\nstructure or the preceding two year period, whichever is shorter. A\nretail vendor shall not require the consent of a current tenant or prior\nowner to provide such duplicate copies or summaries, provided that no\nsuch copy or summary shall contain information relating to the status of\nsuch tenant's or prior owner's account with the retail vendor.\n (c) A retail vendor may charge a fee of five dollars for providing\nsuch duplicate copies of heating and/or cooling bills, or a summary of\nsuch bills, to any such owner.\n 3. (a) The maximum penalty which may be recovered pursuant to section\n5-119 of this chapter, for a violation of this section by any seller,\nlessor or vendor shall be one hundred dollars for each separate and\ndistinct violation; provided, however, that (i) a seller shall not be in\nviolation of this section due to the failure by a vendor to furnish\nheating and/or cooling bills upon receipt of such a request by the\nseller, and (ii) a lessor shall not be in violation of this section if\nthe lessor commenced an act to obtain immediately the heating and/or\ncooling bills upon receiving notice that the structure was to be vacated\nand had not yet received such bills from the vendor.\n (b) The failure of a seller or lessor to furnish the heating and/or\ncooling bills required pursuant to this section to a prospective\npurchaser or lessee shall not affect legal title to any residential\nstructure or permit any purchaser or lessee of any such structure to\navoid any obligations he may have under any purchase contract or lease.\n 4. (a) The commissioner, after consultation with the department of\npublic service, shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the\nprovisions of this section relating to the furnishing and maintenance of\nheating and/or cooling bills. The commissioner shall waive in whole or\nin part a requirement that records be furnished for any period prior to\nthe promulgation of such rules and regulations if such records have not\nbeen maintained by a retail vendor.\n (b) On or before September first, nineteen hundred eighty the\ncommissioner shall notify all retail vendors of fuel or utility services\nof the requirements of this section, and of their obligations to\nmaintain and supply heating and/or cooling bills, or summaries thereof,\nunder this section.\n