In most states, landlords must repair or replace air conditioning. The law often doesn’t mention air conditioning specifically, and instead requires that the landlord repair supplied appliances. An air conditioner almost always qualifies as such an appliance, if it was working when the tenant moved in.
Many local city codes are more specific than state law when it comes to standards for air conditioning and ventilation.
States With Unusual Standards for Fixing Air Conditioning
There are only a few unusual statewide standards for fixing air conditioning. Most states make a landlord fix any provided air conditioning, and most of the rest have no requirements at all. The following states have unique rules which don’t fall into the above categories.
| State | Standard(s) |
| Arkansas | Air conditioning must be kept in the same operating condition as when the lease began. This applies only in leases beginning after Nov. 1, 2021. |
| Kentucky | Must fix any provided air conditioning. This applies only in counties which have passed the Kentucky Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (KY-URLTA). |
| Illinois | In condominiums, and rental property limited to persons 55 and older, there must be certain specific cooling and heating provided at all times, respective to the warm and cold seasons of the year. |
| Maryland | A landlord has no duty to repair air conditioning unless tenants can prove failure to repair creates a “serious and substantial threat” to health and safety. |
| New Jersey | No statutory requirement, but courts have found a broken air conditioner in the hot season may be a habitability violation. |
| New York | No statutory requirement, but courts have found a broken air conditioner in summer may be a habitability violation. |
| Texas | No duty to repair air conditioning until a local official certifies the condition materially affects the safety of an ordinary tenant. |
How Long Can a Landlord Wait Before Fixing Air Conditioning?
Depending on the state, a landlord may be able to wait up to 30 days before fixing air conditioning. However, the average jurisdiction requires significantly faster action than this. While state standards can vary widely, most states will require action within a week or two at most after the tenant delivers proper notice.
Delivering Proper Notice
Notice about deficiencies in air conditioning must get delivered to the landlord through legally acceptable methods. Some states permit verbal notice about such issues. Many require written notice.
Proving how long a landlord took to respond to a repair request is a critical part of any legal remedy, especially when reporting a landlord to housing authorities. Whether or not it’s legally required, written notice to the landlord is the best way to ensure this evidence is available, especially when delivered through certified mail.
Consequences for Failure To Fix Air Conditioning
Landlord failure to fix required air conditioning can qualify as either a serious housing violation or a standard one, depending on the law. Standards vary widely, but if a landlord doesn’t fix after proper notice from the tenant, the following remedies often are available:
- Forcing compliance via court order
- Suing the landlord for costs of the violation (monetary damages)
- Reporting the landlord to housing authorities
- Tenant contracting for repairs and deducting from rent (not an option in some states)
- Ending the lease and moving out (not often legal for minor violations)
Sources
- 1 Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(a)(6) (2022)
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“[A]fter November 1, 2021… there shall be implied in all [non-exempt] leases and rental agreements for residential purposes a requirement that a dwelling unit or single-family residence have, both at the time possession is delivered to the tenant or tenants named in the lease or rental agreement and throughout the term of the lease or rental agreement: A functioning heating and air conditioning system to the extent the heating and air conditioning system served the premises at the time the landlord and the tenant entered into the lease or rental agreement.”
Source Link - 2 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.595(1)(d) (2022)
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“A landlord shall maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by him.”
Source Link - 3 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.500 (2022)
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“The General Assembly hereby authorizes cities, counties and urban-county governments to enact the provisions of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act as set forth in KRS 383.505 to 383.705. If adopted, these provisions shall be adopted in their entirety and without amendment.”
Source Link - 4 765 ILCS 705/20
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(a) When residential rental property has a cooling system or heating system or both serving the entire premises, including individual dwelling units, the landlord shall comply with the following standards with respect to the individual dwelling units in which tenants live: (1) During the cooling season, June 1 through September 30, cooling systems must operate when the heat index exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit. (2) During the heating season, October 1 through May 31: (i) between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., heat must register at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and (ii) between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., heat must register at least 62 degrees Fahrenheit. (b) When residential rental property does not have a premises-wide cooling system that serves individual dwelling units, then the landlord shall provide at least one indoor common gathering space for which a cooling system operates when the heat index exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit. All tenants of the residential rental property shall have free access to that cooled space. As used in this subsection, “indoor common gathering space” means a room intended to be used as a place where multiple people can gather, such as a lounge, meeting or conference room, party room, or similar that can accommodate a cooling system. Residential rental property that does not have an indoor common gathering space shall be exempt from this subsection. (c) This Section only applies to residential rental property in which rental or occupancy is limited to persons 55 years of age or older. See also 765 ILCS 605/18.11
- 5 Md. Real Prop. Code § 8-211(f)(4) (2022)
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“This section does not provide a remedy for the landlord’s failure to repair and eliminate minor defects or, in those locations governed by such codes, housing code violations of a nondangerous nature. There is a rebuttable presumption that the following conditions, when they do not present a serious and substantial threat to the life, health and safety of the occupants, are not covered by this section: The absence of air conditioning.”
Source Link - 6 Park Hill Terrace Assocs. v. Glennon, 146 N.J. Super. 271, 277 (App. Div. 1977)
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“On this record we perceive sufficient credible evidence to support the trial judge finding that the air-conditioning failure for the stated days affected the habitability of the involved premises.”
Source Link - 7 Hamblin v. Bachman, 2006-CV-5596, 14 (N.Y. City Ct. 2009)
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“Courts have found breaches of the warranty of habitibility [sic] in a variety of situations including: lack of heat and/or hot water; lack of an air conditioner in summer; low water pressure; water damage from roof leaks; nearby construction and renovation work; lack of light and air from new building next door; presence of rats and roaches; bedbug infestation; persistent pet odors from prior tenants; second hand smoke from a neighbor; odor from a dumpster; neighbor noise; a registered sex offender neighbor; and neighborhood drug dealers.”
Source Link - 8 Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0561(d)(3)(C) (2021)
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“Repairs under this section may be made only if… the landlord has expressly or impliedly agreed in the lease to furnish heating or cooling equipment; the equipment is producing inadequate heat or cooled air; and the landlord has been notified in writing by the appropriate local housing, building, or health official or other official having jurisdiction that the lack of heat or cooling materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant.”
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