Air Conditioning in Apartments: An Overview
Air conditioning in an apartment is a significant factor in both comfort and health. As a critical system for many apartment complexes, it can keep tenants cool in warm weather, help to ensure air quality in cooler months, and continue to provide a level of comfort and safety all year long.
Both tenants and landlords need to understand the role air conditioning can play in an apartment. It serves a number of purposes including a system for temperature management, humidity control, allergen reduction, and even general air movement. It also provides a general level of comfort that most people place high value on as they pay their rent each month.
In addition to understanding the therapeutic benefits, air conditioning can play an important role in protecting the building and its contents. Properly functioning air conditioning removes moisture that can lead to mold growth or damage. Over time, air quality can be an issue with mold spores, pet dander, and other particles being released into the air.
Air conditioning can also even contribute to safety. A malfunction can increase heating costs , limit air circulation and even lead to structural damage if allowed to persist. It can even make the property more vulnerable to things like smoke or fire damage.
For some types of apartments, the law may not always mandate what has to be in place. That said, the general expectation when renting an apartment from an owner or manager is that at some level air conditioning is available. For some properties, simply providing air conditioning may BE the law, but for others it’s more about simply delivering on what a contract (lease) says.
Regardless of where air conditioning falls on the legal statute, it does have a very real impact on tenant rights. Even non-legal implications of air conditioning should be considered as they can easily determine whether or not a tenant stays or goes. Yet in many situations those implications do overlap with the law.
Whether or not a lease agreement requires air conditioning, an owner or property manager would be remiss to ignore these issues. While some property managers take proactive measures to ensure rental units are fully equipped and functional, others wait until a tenant complains. In either case, it’s important to understand the laws and tenant expectations surrounding air conditioning in an apartment.
Tenant’s Right to Air Conditioning
In most jurisdictions where air conditioning issues appear frequently, the law will distinguish between installation and repair obligations.
While laws vary tremendously, a tenant’s right to air conditioning in an apartment building may be derived from city building or housing department regulations or ordinances. Some housing authorities or other governmental agencies, such as the Department of Buildings in New York City, either require or recommend that buildings have air conditioning or they establish that the failure to provide the same is a violation of its regulations. These violations can lead to criminal penalties and fines and the risk of being fined often motivates building owners to install air conditioning.
An example of these local laws is New York City and State. Under both State and City law, all rooms in residential apartment buildings must be "accessible to adequate light and air" during "the entire time the occupants thereof shall be subject to the provisions of the [New York City] Multiple Dwelling Law …" The current standard serving the public interest (ie., what constitutes "adequate" light and/or air) may be lower than in the past due to the development of newer high-rise buildings and different zoning considerations. However, a violation of the requirement can lead to criminal (jail time) and civil penalties (fines) for the landlord, and the potential eviction of the tenant. These penalties are not enforced by the City but instead are enforced by the tenant, who has a cause of action against the owner or landlord.
Other jurisdictions may require that air conditioning heating, or both be provided if the apartment or building was originally furnished or equipped with the unit. In most situations, if a building has air conditioning in an apartment prior to the tenant moving in, the landlord is obligated to repair or maintain the air conditioning unit while the tenant is in possession of the apartment.
Virginia apartments operated with either a split-system air conditioning unit, otherwise known as a "room unit" or a window air conditioning unit are required to provide one ton of air cooling for each 500 square feet of floor space, up to an aggregate of 3 tons. Also, Virginia requires that any apartment operated or advertised as furnished with central heating must have adequate heat from September through May.
Finally, even if local regulations do not require air conditioning, federal and state courts continue to recognize that the majority of people living in an apartment will expect and require air conditioning to be provided, otherwise "the condition of the apartment will constitute a defect which will interfere with the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the premises."
Additional issues may arise when air conditioning is operated on common areas, such as hallways, lobbies, and lounges. Failing to properly keep the air conditioning working in these areas has resulted in eviction cases where tenants seek an abatement of their rent when the temperature is too hot for comfort.
Landlord’s Obligation Regarding Air Conditioning
Similar to the types of apartment laws that protect tenants regarding heat, there are also provisions listed in several different apartment laws that ensure landlords have the responsibility in fixing installed air conditioning units, or else provide them for their tenants. These vary from state to state and include strict time deadlines as well as ongoing maintenance.
New Jersey – Landlords are required by law to have the property they are renting to conform to the Uniform Construction code, which created a series of standards for construction in order to ensure safety. If an apartment with an air conditioning system was built or altered in accordance with these codes, then they must be maintained and repaired by landlords when needed or replaced by the landlord when it is no longer functional. If a landlord decides to not follow through, the tenant can begin to deduct a certain percentage from their rent or take it off the security deposit towards the repairs and replacement of the air conditioning. These laws include a timeframe on the required responses to the need for repair, and tenants may need to approach the court system to begin receiving rent reductions once the property has not been repaired.
Michigan – Many Michigan apartment lease agreements contain a clause that releases landlords from providing air conditioning, which is permitted by Michigan law. However, if a landlord does install an air conditioning unit or the building is already equipped with central air conditioning, the landlord is responsible for keeping it well maintained and replacing or repairing it as needed. In addition, if a tenant has made it a condition of accepting the lease agreement that the landlord must provide heating, then the landlord must provide it. As with other states, if the unit is not properly repaired or maintained, the tenant can withhold rent or report the landlord to the department of health or building safety.
Illinois – Similar to other states, tenants of apartments may have to deduct rent in order to encourage their landlords to repair or replace defective air conditioning units that are required by law. In addition, when an apartment is advertised as having air conditioning, whether or not the unit is broken, if the detail was included in the ad, then it is included in the lease agreement. If the air conditioning is not functioning, does not have sufficient coolant, or does not stay at an appropriate temperature, the tenant is entitled to remedies. While Illinois law does not specify the length of time that the landlord has to repair the air conditioning, it does state that it has to be done within a reasonable period of time.
Florida – Landlords are not required to provide air conditioning, however, if it is provided, they must offer conditions that are safe for tenants. This includes supplying air conditioning for windows that are damaged to the extent that it allows pests or debris to enter. Tenants can go through the court system in order to have an air conditioning unit repaired by the landlord or replaced, however, they must give proper notice and provide a deadline to the landlord.
State Statutes and Local Regulations Regarding Air Conditioning
While state law generally does not require apartment owners to provide air conditioning, various city and county ordinances may do so. The requirements that exist depend on where a tenant resides, and, even then, the readily available evidence indicates that many apartment owners choose to comply with the requirements that exist, even when not legally obligated to do so. Local laws will, of course, vary from municipality to municipality. One example is city ordinance in San Francisco, California: "Every residential building shall be provided with an adequate supply of hot and cold water. A minimum temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, measured three feet above the floor, shall be maintained at all times in each habitable room within a residential building occupied by existing tenants." Santa Monica, California goes a step further: "Air-Conditioning. Every new or existing hotel, lodger, bachelor hotel or dormitory shall be equipped and maintained with an air-conditioning system so as to provide and maintain in each room adequate fresh air and a room temperature of not more than 78 degrees when the temperature outside the building is 68 degrees. Each owner shall maintain a uniform room temperature when the room temperature outside the building exceeds 78 degrees and maintain a uniform room temperature of not less than 60 degrees when the outside temperature is less than 60 degrees or when rooms with exterior exposure are heated by sunlight. An owner may establish a lower room temperature than required by this section if the owner provides additional heating facilities so as to compensate for the effect of increased infiltration of outside air on the inside temperature of the room." Boston, Massachusetts rules that "[t]he heat provided [in residential apartments] shall be so raised or reduced as to maintain a temperature not lower than sixty-eight (68°) degrees at a height of four (4) feet above the floor and distance of three (3) feet from an exterior wall, unless the outside temperature, as indicated by a recognized governmental authority, is below twenty (20°) degrees ten degrees (10°) lower for sleeping rooms. A temperature of sixty-five (65°) degrees maintained under similar conditions shall be adequate so long as stated during the winter months. [For the months of March through December] [t]he standard shall be the same, except that, whenever the outside temperature, as but not necessarily indicated by the Weather Bureau, drops below fifty-three (53°) degrees, the rooms shall be heated to a standard of at least fifty-eight (58°) degrees twelve (12) inches above the floor and four (4) feet from an exterior wall. For sleeping rooms, the heat shall be adequate to maintain a temperature of at least fifty-five (55°) degrees four (4) feet above the floor and two feet (2′) from an exterior wall." These few examples represent only a small sample of the various ordinances that exist. They also demonstrate that while there may be a legal basis to require the provision of air conditioning, many apartment owners voluntarily choose to provide air conditioning in their units, regardless of their legal obligation to do so.
Remedies for Problems in Apartment Air Conditioning
The problems tenants face with air conditioning systems can range from broken compressors, leaky water control lines that cause water build up and mold growth or even just an A/C system that doesn’t cool at all. Whatever your issue you have with A/C in your apartment, you will need to go about dealing with it in a certain way. The first thing to note is that the laws governing these issues will vary depending on your method of cooling your apartment unit.
In some apartment buildings, Will County tenants will have a window A/C that is controlled using a remote. Other properties have central air that is part of the unit’s heating system. Regardless of how your cooling system is set up, be aware that if it cools your apartment, you have a right to a working A/C.
Suppose your system is blowing out warm air instead of cold air. Or perhaps the entire unit does not work, leaving you with no air conditioning at all. If this is the situation you are in, you can take the following steps to get airflow returned to the proper temperature:
- Notify your landlord of the problem in writing. Email communication is typically preferable as it is easy to keep records of the messages you send. Make sure to send a follow-up email confirming that you received the original message.
- Give the landlord time to respond . Depending on the seriousness of the issue, your landlord may not have a legitimate reason for taking a quick reply to the email. However, if more than three days pass and you receive no response, you should make a phone call and clearly state your complaint.
- If there is still no response after two days and you have made multiple phone calls, you should consider contacting the local health department. Local governments keep track of concerns related to health and safety of its citizens – which include apartments.
- Allow workers to enter your apartment and make repairs or for inspections. In some cases, your landlord may contact your local housing inspector to evaluate your cooling issues and report back to the landlord. If this occurs, you will need to allow these workers into your apartment unit to come up with a solution to the issue. They also need to have the right to issue a citation to your landlord if the cooling problem cannot be addressed in a reasonable amount of time.
- If you do allow a worker to come in and find that the issue with the cooling is not serious enough to require a fix, you only need to give the landlord 7 days to address the issue.
- After 7 days, you could file suit in civil court under Section 9-121 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes – which is the Residential Tenants’ Right to Repair Act.
Legal Remedies for Violations of Air Conditioning Requirements
When landlords fail to adhere to the air conditioning laws and residential lease agreements, tenants can pursue several legal options to ensure compliance and safeguard their rights. Initially, a tenant should address the issues through informal communication, seeking amicable solutions directly with their landlord or property manager. However, if no resolution is achieved, tenants may explore more formal legal avenues. One option is to withhold rent until the air conditioning issues are resolved. Under certain circumstances, withholding rent is permissible when the landlord violates their obligations under the lease or applicable law. Although this course of action may place the lease agreement on precarious terms, it also serves as a compelling message to the landlord that they must address the entire lease agreement, including compliance with air conditioning requirements. Tenants should consult with a local attorney before taking any actions involving withholding rent to avoid potential retribution by the landlord or eviction from the property. Another option for pursuing enforcement of air conditioning requirements is contacting your local municipal or state housing agency. Such agencies typically enforce building codes and other residential laws governing the maintenance and repair of property. Generally, municipalities or states have clear requirements regarding air conditioning, especially in states with hot weather. In these jurisdictions, the law may define the acceptable temperature for any residential unit. In other jurisdictions, municipalities or states may have ordinances requiring landlords to provide air conditioning. Compliance with heating and cooling laws in these jurisdictions requires landlords to maintain the temperature within a residential unit at a set standard. These agencies can investigate and inspect the matter to determine whether a violation is occurring and to facilitate a resolution of the issue. If your local government does not have a housing agency, you may be able to report the issue to your city’s building department or relevant agency overseeing building code compliance. Alternatively, contact your state’s housing agency. If you are faced with a situation where air conditioning requirements are not being met, communicate your concerns with your landlord and attempt to resolve the issue informally. However, if you are unable to obtain a resolution, consider engaging a local attorney who specializes in landlord/tenant issues to further pursue legal remedies.
Best Practices for Tenants and Landlords
Below are tips for both tenants and landlords regarding air conditioning agreements under Wisconsin law.
Tenants should:
Landlords should:
By avoiding ambiguity in air conditioning agreements and obligations , a tenant and landlord can be assured that they are working within their rights, and can allocate the costs of air conditioning appropriately.