This happened to my parents in the 90s in Florida. They did a consultation with a lawyer and he told them to stop paying rent. So they did. Saved the money and used it to make a downpayment on their first house. I don't know if it still applies but it's probably worth a look.
this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2025
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Tomorrow is going to be brutal all across North America. I'm lucky enough to have A/C but if you don't you might want to make plans to shelter somewhere
It’s good be in the 60s in San Francisco like it has been for a few weeks haha.
True story?
I don't know about other places, but in the U.S., generally if your house is fucked to the extent of being kindof uninhabitable (and I'd think no AC would qualify -- though maybe depending on local climate, that might not so much be seen as the case?), your landlord would have to get it fixed or pay for a hotel stay until it was fixed.
Or maybe in your case, it's more of a condo situation where you don't have a landlord.
Or maybe I'm off base thinking a lack of AC in July would qualify as sufficiently uninhabitable to require your landlord to be responsible for an alternate dwelling.
AC not mandated in Texas
AC not mandated in LA, though that might change
In general, it’s a safe bet to just assume it’s not mandated and if it is or going to be there’s probably a landlord who opposes it.
Well shit. Every new thing I learn about the country I live in makes it shittier.
Dallas and Austin require air conditioning in units, while Houston landlords are only required to provide a cooling system if there are no screens on a unit’s doors and windows.
At least there's this, until the state steps in and makes it illegal for cities to require AC
Yeah, there’s this too:
However, a small but growing number of U.S. states, cities and counties have adopted legislation that impose maximum indoor temperature standards on rental housing. In the last five years, six U.S. localities, including New Orleans and Clark County, Nevada, have adopted such cooling laws, compared with just seven in the previous two decades, according to Reuters' review of property codes and interviews with more than a dozen policymakers and housing officials.
But it shouldn’t have to be done at that minute of a level. State or federally it could (I argue should) be guaranteed as a basic necessity, just like water, power, sewer.
Window units are not that expensive. Unless landlord is a slumlord, if you say you’re gonna leave if said landlord doesn’t fork up for a window unit, they’ll probably do it. Evicting someone and getting a new tenant is much more of a hassle.
A Reuters survey of housing regulations in all 50 U.S. states found that, while nearly half of them require landlords to maintain existing air conditioning units, none require that air-conditioning be provided. Nor do rental housing regulations describe air-conditioning as an essential service like plumbing, heat and electricity.
Not uninhabitable, just uncomfortable. My landlord is not exactly cooperative in any case, and it takes time, resources, and perhaps most of all, energy to square up seriously on such issues. He already has refused to fix the heating, the oven, the wonky electricity, and the leaky roof, and is currently trying to kick me out so he can raise rent.
... I'm actively looking for a new place.
IANAL, but I think /r/legaladvice might say in a case like this that once you've communicated to your landlord that the AC is busted, you should move into a hotel until the AC is fixed, send bills for reimbursement to the landlord, and refuse to pay more than your regular rent charge. Theoretically, the courts should back you up. (Unless, again, AC isn't considered a big enough deal to make your place uninhabitable in the eyes of the law locally.) Though also, if you don't have enough money on hand to just go stay at a hotel, reimbursement may not be good enough to justify that plan for your particular case. I dunno. Might be worth researching your options more, though.
Edit: LilB0kChoy has some relevant info in another comment, however, that makes it seem less likely that you'd be able to use the law in your favor here. :/
I appreciate the advice, but I don't have that kind of money on hand. Or the willingness, for that matter, to take any of this to court. I get stress ulcers enough just dealing with day-to-day life. At this point, I'll be content to just get out of here.
And like I said, it's not uninhabitable. Place is practically a basement, so it's only on the most miserable days that the heat seeps in enough that I mourn I can't fit myself in the fridge, lmao.
Got a quote the other day for a new AC unit because ours is 19 years old and is starting to act up. I don’t think it will make it through another Florida summer. Hell, I don’t know if I’ll make it. It hit 94 here…and somehow people are still moving here.
It's cool in here boy