Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: the landlord was notified that our cooler wasn't working and has still done nothinbg. for two weeks we had to sleep outside because the house was between 115 and 122 degrees inside. now they say the cooler is fine pay the rent. what can i do?

Answer:

A.R.S. § 33-1324 requires that a landlord make repairs or whatever is necessary to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition including heat and air conditioning. There are some exceptions in cases where the tenant provides their own cooler which is connected directly to the tenant's power utility but generally speaking if a landlord provides air conditioning as part of the rental agreement they are responsible for maintaining it in working order.

If the air conditioning is included as part of the rental agreement, Arizona Revised Statute A.R.S. § 33-1361 requires a landlord to correct the defficiency within ten days of written notice from the tenant. The tenant may terminate the lease if the landlord does not correct the defficiency within 10 days of receiving written notice from the tenant. The written notice must state the exact nature of the defficiency and give the landlord notice that you will terminate lease if the defficiency is not corrected after 10 days have passed.

There are other remedies provided under Arizona Revised Statute A.R.S. § 33-1364 which may entitle the tenant to reimbursement for alternate housing, and correct the defficiency at the landlord's expense but those remedies may or not be available to you depending on the specific circumstance.