Renters Rights & Air Conditioning
While air conditioning is not legally required in every apartment in every state, the apartments that do feature air conditioning make for a more comfortable living situation. If you have air conditioning in your rental unit, always be aware of your rights to repairs, as well as your own responsibilities in regard to usage.
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Legal Basics
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Landlords must repair your air conditioner when it breaks. Most states require that the landlord of a rental unit make any necessary repairs to a rental unit in order for the tenant to live in reasonable conditions. In Virginia, for example, the landlord is required by law to ensure that the air conditioning unit remains in working condition while the unit is being rented, and may not falsely advertise an apartment as having air conditioning when it doesn't.
Responsibility
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Landlords are not the only ones who are responsible for keeping the air conditioning unit in an active state. In Florida and many other states, the tenant has a responsibility to maintain the air conditioning unit and refrain from causing unnecessary damage to it. If the air conditioning unit is damaged due to normal wear and tear, tenants may inform the landlord and have it repaired at no cost to them.
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Leave It On
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Landlords can be fined for illegally turning off air conditioning units. Landlords who want to evict a tenant must follow proper procedure at all times. They are not allowed to disconnect any utility, including an air conditioning unit, to force the tenant to move out sooner than legally required. Landlords in Georgia who shut off a tenant's air conditioning before a court has ordered an eviction will be fined $500.
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