What to do if your apartment is too cold

Step 1. Measure. Place a thermometer in the middle of the room, about a meter above the floor, away from the window and the radiator. Write down the temperature over several days, with the date and time.

Step 2. Check the radiator. If the top is warm but the bottom is cold, or the other way around, there’s air or sediment in the system. If the radiator is cold all over, the problem is in the riser pipe.

Step 3. Check the obvious things. Covered radiators, a closed thermostatic valve, an open ventilation grille, gaps around the windows.

Step 4. Report it. With specific measurements, not just “it’s cold.” A report backed by numbers gets handled faster.

What happens next. If it’s cold in one apartment, the problem is local and gets fixed on the spot. If the whole building is cold, the heating substation needs adjusting.

If the problem comes back every winter. That’s not an issue with your apartment, it’s an issue with the building’s system. The fix is balancing.