apartment issues

we've been living in this apartment for 2 years now...last year we told the office that there was an issue with the water in the shower...it would be a certain temperature and then it would become scolding hot. Maintance came and looked at it and said there was nothing that they could do..the plumbing is old and they can't control the temperature of the water. The problem seemed to have went away after a while. So earlier on today I took a shower and brought my 18 month old son in with me and as I was showering the water turned scolding hot...like someone was pouring boiling water on my back. this water also got on my son...who cried for a few minutes but seemed to be ok. my question is what rights do I have? Can I not pay the rent until they figure out a way to fix this? I've never had a problem like this any other place that I lived and I don't understand how they can just say there is nothing they can do.

The reason behind this lies in the flow of water to your and other units. When cold water is demanded from some other area close by when you are using the hot water, whatever cold water you are using is diverted to that source. This deprives you of the cold water and raises your water temperature. This normally happens when someone flushes a toilet or starts a nearby washer on the cold cycle. The pipes coming into the building are probably not large enough to divert the flow to another unit without affecting yours. (This has nothing to do with your metered use of water). There is a simple fix to this. Management just doesn't know what it is. You need a new shower valve and handle. They make them now with anti-scald devices built in. The shower valve with this device keeps the water temperature constant. It compensates for different amounts of cold or hot water entering the valve so the temperature stays the same.

However, you rented the unit without one. State laws require the LL provide adequate hot water. You have that. You have plenty of hot water. You want something more - an improvement. The LL doesn't have to install improvements upon your request. Offer to buy the anti-scald shower hardware if management will install it. You will have to leave it there when you leave, so they may cooperate with you on this (since it will ultimately benefit them). If you have a single handle faucet for the tub/shower, they can usually replace it through there (if there is no access to the back of the plumbing behind the shower). If you have a 2 handle one, it will be difficult to replace unless there is access to the rear of the plumbing. Many plumbing brands have models of these. Go to any hardware of plumbing big box store (like Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc.) and ask about these. If management will not install this and it is important to you, ask if you can have it installed yourself.

I agree with the above and the landlord really does have to resolve that.

Sorry, but anti-scald valves are not required uniformly throughout the country. If not required in your area, asking for them is requesting an improvement to the property. The LL does not have to make improvements. You would have to check to see if your local codes require these and if there is any grandfather amendment that would allow older buildings to defer meeting this code until the buildings have new plumbing installed. The LL may, alternately, lower the temperature of the hot water heater or boiler to less than 130 degrees.