water broken/frozen

Hi there, I am a college student leasing an apartment in Mid Michigan. We have had no running water for the past two days. Although maintenance people have been in and out, there has been no change because of "the cold weather." I was wondering, how long do we have to live in an apartment with no running water? Does the LL have a time frame to fix it during? Is there any reimbursement we can get? Is there anything we can do legally, Renter's Rights, etc?

Please help me - we are all sick of driving elsewhere to shower and having to use gallon water jugs!

[OHlandlord]

Sounds like they had pipes freeze and burst. Happens all the time in this cold weather in the midwest here. The LL must take steps to start repairs within 48 hours of an emergency. (He has done this since you say maintenance people have been running in and out.) It may take a couple of days to repair. It is likely to have broken the pipes in several places. Once they repair one and turn the water on, they find another broken spot. (Very common) Be patient another day or two. You could call the LL and inquire politely when you will have water again. (I don't mean to sound patronizing as I know it seems bad to you, but as you get older and buy a place of your own you will find that these things happen. Try to take it in stride. There really is no helping it many times. And since it happened over a weekend, it is hard to get people to repair.) You are entitled to a rent credit for the days the unit was without water. Take the number of days you are without water, divide them by 30 days, then multiply by your rent amount. Negotaite a rent credit with the LL for that amount. Hope it is fixed soon.