General Housing Information

questions & answers

Question: I have no a/c in my apartment and the land lord just says they'll do something about it but never do and it's hot for me and my kids what can I do?

Answer: I'm sorry to hear that especially as it starts to get hotter. Arizona Revised Statutes section 33-1324 requires a landlord to provide "running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, reasonable heat and reasonable air-conditioning or cooling where such units are installed and offered, when required by seasonal weather conditions . . . ." Under A.R.S. 33-1361, you may provide the landlord written notice of the breach in writing that the lease will terminate within 10 days after the receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied. That notice period goes down to 5 days in the event of a breach "materially affecting health and safety". This assumes you want to get out of the lease though. The landlord may just not fix it and let you leave. There is another remedy under A.R.S. 33-1364. Where a landlord fails to supply air conditioning or other essential utilities, you may put the landlord on written notice of what you intend to do and: 1. Obtain your own air conditioning and deduct the cost from the rent. 2. Recover damages in court for the reduction in value of the unit based on the issue. 3. Obtain substitute housing during the non-compliance and not pay rent until they fix it. (see A.R.S. 33-1364(A)(3)). Finally, if the cost to fix the A/C is less than the greater of $300.00 or 1/2 of your monthly rent, you may notify the landlord in writing and, if not repaired 10 days after notice, you may cause the repair work to be done on your own by a licensed contractor and deduct it from rent after giving the landlord an invoice. Here is a link to the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act containing the statutes I referenced and other helpful statutes. Please do be sure to comply with the specific notice requirements in each statute: https://housing.az.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/Landlord-Tenant-Act-ADOH-Publication-July-2018_0.pdf As it gets hotter and there is a real danger, you may consider calling the police or, alternatively, the Attorney General's Office.