AC/landlord issues WWYD?

[Robin's Song]

We are having issues with the AC in our rental house. As far as we can tell, there are three major issues.

 

1. The AC unit is too small for the house (two stories, one zone ac)

2. The AC isn't working properly

3. The attic does not have insulation and stays around 140 degrees, which affects the temperature of the rooms around it.

 

The coolest the house gets is 84 degrees (at night). It is 89 degrees downstairs right now with the air on and it is only 82 outside! Our electric bill is $400/month. It is at least 10 degrees hotter upstairs where the bedrooms are. This house is about 15 years old, but I'm not sure if the AC has ever been replaced. We are miserable and having difficulty sleeping at night. The baby is sleeping in front of a fan right now and he is sweating. This sucks.

 

We called the landlord about a month ago when we were having 100+ degree weather. She sent out her maintenance guy (maintenance kid?) who dumped freon in there and suggested we get several window units. He actually suggested the landlord send out an AC guy, which she did. They basically told us that the unit wasn't adequate for the house but did need to be serviced. They cleaned the coils. It is still hot. Really really hot.

 

I'm from Florida. I know what hot is. I have never had this problem. We were just visiting family in Florida and their AC works! I called the landlord again and she told me we should expect it to be hotter upstairs. She is sending the maintenance guy out again (who the REAL AC guy said put too much freon in last time because he didn't know what he was doing!). What are my options? We're in VA if that matters. I pay a LOT of money in rent and a huge AC bill. This is crazy.

[Carrie12345]

Are there any laws regarding a/c in VA?

As far as I know, it isn't a requirement in NJ. I've lived in several apartments where I've had to furnish my own a/c. Heat was a landlord requirement, a/c wasn't.

[Hockey Mom]

I would find out what your lease says first. Then find out what the laws in your state are.

 

In the meantime, can you afford to buy insulation for your attic? If you can buy insulation, do so, then submit an invoice to your landlord. Be sure to include a copy of the receipt for the insulation, and cost of labor (whether you do it yourself or have someone else do it). The worst they can do is say they're not going to pay it, but it may provide some relief (both physically and in your energy bill).

 

Another option would be to negotiate your rent. IOW, it costs you $500 to fix the problem yourselves. Ask the landlord if they would be willing to knock off $500 off the next month's rent.

 

Make sure you're keeping a log of all of these maintenance people coming in, and document what they're telling you. It may prove useful should you have to file some sort of small claims.

[littlebug42]

As a former apartment manager in Ohio, we were under no legal obligation to provide air conditioning. Our apartments had central air but it was only critical to repair if the resident had chronic health conditions with documentation on file from a doctor or they were elderly. I would check the laws of your state but I would think that she would not have a legal responsibility to replace an a/c unit. Heat is a different matter. That is usually required by law.

 

Your landlord is right about the fact that sometimes, it is hotter upstairs. We replaced our furnace and central air a few years ago and it is still much hotter upstairs than it is downstairs but we live in a 90 year old home so it is something that we just accept. We have to supplement our a/c with fans on the hottest nights.

[carolinagirl]

I would request the landlord buy/install a larger a/c unit. If they're unwilling and you have no options to break the lease, then you are stuck with buying window units or portable units for the rooms.

 

It really is a sticky situation (literally!). We had a home where the unit was borderline for the house size plus an attic that got very not. The builder went cheap, we suffered, though not nearly as bad as that.

 

This home we thought we were all set but even with two very large units, our upstairs can't keep it below 75 with the temperatures we've been having this summer. Our downstairs unit on the other hand freezes us out. They were both brand new when we bought the home (last year), upstairs and downstairs are the same size units. Our two story workshop that has an upstairs MIL suite with a downstairs closet and bath has a one-unit a/c and it can't keep up either. Our last electric bill was $688. This summer has pushed I think almost everyone's units and wallets LOL.

[gingersmom]

I have rented houses before and I never expected the landlord to provide air conditioning. Or to make sure that the AC was adequate for the house.

 

I rented a crazy house where in the downstairs you froze and upstairs you baked.

 

Unfortunately when you rent you take the good with the bad.

[Robin's Song]

I have rented houses before and I never expected the landlord to provide air conditioning. Or to make sure that the AC was adequate for the house.

 

I rented a crazy house where in the downstairs you froze and upstairs you baked.

 

Unfortunately when you rent you take the good with the bad.

 

Well, um, NYC is a bit different ;). It is standard here, and everywhere else we have lived, for the houses to have AC. It was listed with the standard central air. The landlord provides maintenance and I don't think it is unreasonable to expect them to maintain a major thing like the AC. We never would have rented the house without AC, and we certainly would not have paid the amount we pay for rent for a house without AC.

 

DH came home and said the system is broken. It is "on" but it isn't running. It is much hotter inside than it is outside right now. DH has kids in the sprinkler as I type :). My baby is sweating and flushed, but I don't think he will enjoy the sprinkler :glare:.

 

I hate to put more money into this house. We do all the maintenance ourselves becuase we learned soon after moving in that our landlord rarely follows through with what she says she is going to do. We have fixed the refrigerator, broken stair railings, installed dead bolts on the doors...not major stuff but it adds up. We also maintain the yard including mulch, mowing, landscaping, pressure washing driveway and house (basically whatever the HOA wants done we have to do), etc...Did I mention we have only lived here for five months? And that we pay almost $400 in electric for an AC that has it at 90 degrees in here right now?!!!

 

We usually buy a house and one of the perks of renting when we got stationed here is that we would have less maintenance. I think we can break our lease if we move to base housing, but I really don't want to do that. The issue here is that the landlord is blowing us off because she doesn't want to put any money into the house. We don't ask for much from her, so I feel like when we do she should be willing to work with us. Our landlord manages the property for a construction company that buys houses from their customers if they can't sell their houses before they close on the new construction. It's not like it is another military family who just can't afford to replace the AC, KWIM?

[gingersmom]

Well' date=' um, NYC is a bit different ;). It is standard here, and everywhere else we have lived, for the houses to have AC. It was listed with the standard central air. The landlord provides maintenance and I don't think it is unreasonable to expect them to maintain a major thing like the AC. We never would have rented the house without AC, and we certainly would not have paid the amount we pay for rent for a house without AC.

 

DH came home and said the system is broken. It is "on" but it isn't running. It is much hotter inside than it is outside right now. DH has kids in the sprinkler as I type :). My baby is sweating and flushed, but I don't think he will enjoy the sprinkler :glare:.

 

I hate to put more money into this house. We do all the maintenance ourselves becuase we learned soon after moving in that our landlord rarely follows through with what she says she is going to do. We have fixed the refrigerator, broken stair railings, installed dead bolts on the doors...not major stuff but it adds up. We also maintain the yard including mulch, mowing, landscaping, pressure washing driveway and house (basically whatever the HOA wants done we have to do), etc...Did I mention we have only lived here for five months? And that we pay almost $400 in electric for an AC that has it at 90 degrees in here right now?!!!

 

We usually buy a house and one of the perks of renting when we got stationed here is that we would have less maintenance. I think we can break our lease if we move to base housing, but I really don't want to do that. The issue here is that the landlord is blowing us off because she doesn't want to put any money into the house. We don't ask for much from her, so I feel like when we do she should be willing to work with us. Our landlord manages the property for a construction company that buys houses from their customers if they can't sell their houses before they close on the new construction. It's not like it is another military family who just can't afford to replace the AC, KWIM?[/quote']

 

I am assuming you are in a suburb of New York City. I don't know of too many "houses" in New York City.

 

The crazy house I was referring to was in Queens, New York.

 

I never heard of AC being standard in houses. My house doesn't have central air and if I was to rent it then the renters would have to provide their own window air conditioners.

[Robin's Song]

I am assuming you are in a suburb of New York City. I don't know of too many "houses" in New York City.

 

The crazy house I was referring to was in Queens, New York.

 

I never heard of AC being standard in houses. My house doesn't have central air and if I was to rent it then the renters would have to provide their own window air conditioners.

 

 

I live in VA :). I'm sorry if I somehow gave the impression I live in NY! This house already has AC, I wasn't expecting them to put it in.

 

Anyways, I feel like a jerk. After many calls and messages from dh and I, she has agreed to send the AC guy out. I am hoping that he can do something that works this time, or that if he says it needs to be replaced that the landlord will follow through!

[Aubrey]

As a former apartment manager in Ohio, we were under no legal obligation to provide air conditioning. Our apartments had central air but it was only critical to repair if the resident had chronic health conditions with documentation on file from a doctor or they were elderly. I would check the laws of your state but I would think that she would not have a legal responsibility to replace an a/c unit. Heat is a different matter. That is usually required by law.

 

Your landlord is right about the fact that sometimes, it is hotter upstairs. We replaced our furnace and central air a few years ago and it is still much hotter upstairs than it is downstairs but we live in a 90 year old home so it is something that we just accept. We have to supplement our a/c with fans on the hottest nights.

 

I think it depends on the area. A/c is the law in Tx.

[Pretty in Pink]

It depends where you live. You need to look up the laws in your state. I just posted about this very issue here about two weeks ago...maybe less. I live in NC. The law here states that the landlord does not have to provide the tenant with an air conditioner, but if there is a working unit on the property when you sign the lease then the landlord has a legal obligation to maintain that unit (or replace it with a comprable unit, if necessary).

 

I think landlords do have to provide AC in some states, TX being one of them.

 

I feel your pain! Our unit has gone out twice in the last month, and seven times since we moved in a year and a half ago. It is too small for the house, our electric bill is outrageous, but what can you do? We are planning to move when this lease is up!

[littlebug42]

I live in VA :). I'm sorry if I somehow gave the impression I live in NY! This house already has AC' date=' I wasn't expecting them to put it in.

 

Anyways, I feel like a jerk. After many calls and messages from dh and I, she has agreed to send the AC guy out. I am hoping that he can do something that works this time, or that if he says it needs to be replaced that the landlord will follow through![/quote']

 

If it is included in your lease as part of what you pay for or advertised as part of what you should be getting, then you may have some recourse. I am not familiar with Virginia law, but in Ohio, you can put your rent into an escrow account so that basically the landlord gets no rent until the repairs are made. You have to go through legal channels to do this, but it forces the landlord into action before they can have their money. If the manager is not doing her job, personally I would start bugging the owner.

 

I agree that if it is advertised it should be provided. Apartment communities tend to maintain their end of this much better than private landlords however in my experience. Larger companies have to be more concerned about occupancy rates etc so they don't want people moving out if things do not go right. As a manager, my job depended on stuff like that but that is not always the case in private situations.