TEXAS, USA — There is nothing worse than walking into a hot home after coming in from outside where temperatures are hitting the triple digits. This is especially terrible when you have to rely on your landlord or leasing manager to fix it.
THE QUESTION
Is your landlord responsible for fixing your A/C if it ever breaks?
OUR SOURCES
Dewey Marshall, Texas Tenants Union Executive Director; 6 News Legal Expert Liz Mitchell
THE ANSWER
Yes, landlords are required to fix your A/C, only if you can prove your living conditions are uninhabitable.
WHAT WE FOUND
The Texas Tenants Union works directly with tenants in need and lets them know what their renter's rights are. Marshall says the first step to take when you find out your A/C is broken is to send a letter to your landlord explaining the problem.
"The tenant rights in Texas are not triggered until the landlord receives one repair or remedy request through a trackable form of mail," Marshall explained. "Keep a receipt so that we know that there are actual repair or remedy requests that have been submitted."
Next, the landlord has less than three days to respond to the request and work on the issue.
If the landlord neglects to fix the A/C unit, that's when renters have three options to fix the issue.
"They can stay in your unit and sue their landlord. They can move out of their unit, terminate their lease without penalty and sue their landlord, or they can repair and deduct." Marshall said.
An example of repair and deduct is when a tenant pays for the A/C fix out of pocket and deducts the cost from their rent. But the price out of pocket cannot exceed $500.
If the tenant decides to take the legal route and sue, there are things the tenant cannot do if they want to have a chance to win their case.
"You have to be current on your rent at the time that you have sent the certified letter," Mitchell shared. "If you're in arrears on your rent, then that's going to affect your case. You shouldn't take it upon yourself to stop paying your rent."
According to Texas Property Code, the best way to win a suit, in this case, is to prove that your health and safety are being threatened.
"It's important to consult with an attorney first so that you're getting damage deposits back so that you're not stuck contractually finishing out the term of your lease," Mitchell continued. "You just want to make sure that you're doing everything within the law, supported by the Texas property code to get you out of that lease into an apartment that's more habitable."
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