Many apartments require all windows to be closed during winter when the heating is on. But even when the apartments have central heating, as far as I know about my current apartment, it just circulate the air inside the apartments, and doesn't bring in fresh air.
It is dangerous to tenants' lives that the CO2 and other kinds of gas become accumulated inside. So are the above policies of apartment managers reasonable?
As tenants, what can we do to guarantee we have necessary fresh air to breath?
An example of such policies is following:
During the heating season when the outside temperature is below 50-degrees, all windows must be kept closed to prevent waste. During the winter when the outside temperature is below freezing, leaving a window open, even one inch, can freeze the heat lines beneath the window and cause a flood. Management will watch for open windows and repeat offenses may result in a charge to the Tenant.
Best Answer
There are very few workplaces or residences which are so air tight that air cannot exchange with the outdoors adequately. Particularly if an exterior door is opened for a few seconds once in awhile or a heating or cooking appliance exhausts outdoors (thus drawing in outside air). Buildings which are designed to be really airtight will have an outside air intake, usually with a heat exchanger for energy efficiency.
In ordinary construction up to the 1990s, there was little concern of consuming interior oxygen, even with a small apartment and a large number of people visiting, cooking, etc. Doors, walls, windows, floors, closets, plumbing and electrical holes simply were not that tightly sealed.
If this is truly a concern for you, rent or buy an air oximeter. An "inexpensive" laboratory model for O2 is less than $1000 here (a bargain compared to many). Lab instrumentation rental businesses typically require a month or two minimum rental. To get a reasonably complete understanding of the air composition, a model which reads both CO2 and O2 is desirable.