I have received an reimbursement request from tenant regards her hotel bill due to AC outage. The AC request was received and AC tech was sent the next day. I assume on the day of AC outage, she decided to stay in hotel due to possible discomfort at house. Under this circumstance, would LL be responsible for the bill even though the service was called immediately. Does State of Florida (Oviedo FL) has any clear statement on this type of responsibility?
Thanks in advance!
Note: I am not an attorney. But, as an owner of rental property in Florida, this question regarding the landlord's responsibility caught my attention and I've done a little research. Florida State Statute does not appear to address air conditioning requirements for rental property. The Florida Landlord Tenant Act in Statute (83.51) "landlord's obligation to maintain premises" does not list air conditioning as a requirement. The Housing Code and (HUD) mention air conditioning but are only applicable if adopted by the local jurisdiction. Those standards do not require air conditioning but if present maintenance is required. In this case, The City of Oviedo does not appear to have adopted those minimum standards. Unless your lease details you're responsibility for this scenario, reimbursing the tenant for alternate housing while repairs are made is really up to you.
Responding to a tenant's notification of a malfunctioning (HVAC) system within 24 hours is reasonable. After all, if it was your residence and your (HVAC) system that broke down it would be at least 24 hours before a service tech would be available, unless you are willing to pay an additional emergency fee.
I can't imagine that you should be responsible for this. Didn't people live in Florida before the invention of AC?
If the repair was going to be delayed I would get the tenant a couple of window units.
I have received an reimbursement request from tenant regards her hotel bill due to AC outage. The AC request was received and AC tech was sent the next day. I assume on the day of AC outage, she decided to stay in hotel due to possible discomfort at house. Under this circumstance, would LL be responsible for the bill even though the service was called immediately. Does State of Florida (Oviedo FL) has any clear statement on this type of responsibility?
Thanks in advance!
No. You're not liable to put tenants up in a hotel. At most, you would credit them whatever their actual rent would have been for any days the place was not legal.
Normally, any habitability issues are required to be fixed within a reasonable amount of time. Being without AC for one day, is hardly likely to break any habitability laws - even if you're required to provide working AC. You're allowed to get things fixed within a reasonable amount of time and 24 hours is surely reasonable.
What you could do is tell the tenant that by law you're only required to get it fixed within a reasonable amount of time, which could be several days at least. But, you're willing to credit them one day's rent. If they persist on wanting more money, tell them that your understanding is that what you've offered them is actually generous, but if they want a judge to decide that's up to them, and you'll be happy to abide by whatever a judge decides. In other words, let them sue you over it. They probably won't. And if they do, in my opinion, they'll lose.
And this is what renter's insurance is for. If you get displaced as a tenant, your renter's insurance loss of use rider will pay for your hotel room, etc.
In Florida you only have to legally cover heat and not cooling.
Mike H ,
first I am not a lawyer, ok now that's out of the way.. It was not you choice to have them stay in a motel and your not responsible to pay for it. Reasonable time to get something like an Ac unit is as much as 5 business days. That being said in the future you may want to keep a window or a portable unit handy for just such emergency services .. I have a portable unit that I paid $100 for on Craigslist and it is like new. I didn't need it for any reason except for back up, and it was a good thing I had it because my own Ac unit went out and even though I didn't call a service tech out because I fixed it myself, the parts still took 4 days to get here. Meanwhile the portable unit kept my bedroom cool so I just hung out in there instead of the living room fir those hot days.. It saved me bunches, so if I were you I would just keep my eye out and when you see a inexpensive unit get it for a back up . Also remember to send your Tenants your responce in writing by certified letter. That way you can still word it nicely but they know you mean business and you also have it on record that you didn't blow their request off. One last thing , I'm not sure what provisions are stated in your leases about the ac, if they do not state that you are not responsible and that they are only provided as a curtesy, then they should. Of course just another reminder , I am not a lawyer and everything I say is only my opinion . Good luck and God Speed
@Account Closed pretty much the same here in Texas: respond in 72 hours or less, repair in a "reasonable time" which of course varies on parts and season. AC is not considered an emergency according to TX property code, and in any event, the landlord is only responsible for the daily value of the rent if you decide to be a nice guy.
It was the tenants choice to go to a hotel (I'm assuming she did not discuss this idea with you beforehand).
She gets to pay for her own hotel stay.
And yes, having a few window units handy for emergencies is useful. To date this summer we've had two HVAC units bite the dust (ouch! on the replacement costs of not one but two!) and we've been hauling window units back and forth to these houses while our great HVAC guy has been replacing these units. Not a whisper of a hotel request from any of these tenants.
It is interesting (and many tenants....and a few landlords....do not realize) that while many states require that a source of heat be provided, the issue of a source of cooling is not a legal requirement that a landlord needs to provide a tenant. Check your particular states requirements for adequate plumbing, electrical, heat, etc..
Gail
@Scott Weaner I just felt the new tenant is trying to take advantage of the situation after being moved in for 1-month. totally not a good way to introduce herself. Just want to dig in more of local code, requirement before determine actions.
@Account Closed
@Account Closed I agree, my thoughts are, this is a rental property and things do break in reality. I don't think LL should be responsible for their live in every little thing. Requesting hotel stay without per-discussion seems like trying to take advantage of the situation. Before making a decision at a unfamiliar market, I want to look into a little bit more in case State of Florida has a different position w/ this type of repair situations.
@James DeRoest Yes, I did a further search after my post of this question, and realized cooling is not considered a legal issue in state of Florida (and few other States as well).
@Account Closed I do not ever expect a lawyer to provide free advice over BP :P I am surprised that I am not the only one to have a backup portable AC at home for emergency use. My wife hates it but when time comes, it does become very handy.
@Robert Melcher Although I am dealing w/ Texas market, still did not realize cooling is not considered an emergency even in TX. Even it is such a hot climate. Learn something new today!
@Gail K. AC is such a pain and they break when you need them the most. Hope that's the end of your AC repair this summer though! Good luck
Can't speak for Florida but the TAR lease specifically states that air conditioning repair is not considered an emergency.
Depending on the temperature, A/C IS considered an emergency here in Florida. If the stated high was 95 degrees, or higher, you would be responsible for the daily rate of the unit for separate accomodations. However, you don't have to get them a hotel room, and two, I highly doubt that the stated high was over 95! If you're feeling generous, give her the daily rate as a credit. In either case, tell her "you're welcome" for getting the A/C repaired as quickly as you did, and move on.
-Ben
Depending on the temperature, A/C IS considered an emergency here in Florida. If the stated high was 95 degrees, or higher, you would be responsible for the daily rate of the unit for separate accomodations. However, you don't have to get them a hotel room, and two, I highly doubt that the stated high was over 95! If you're feeling generous, give her the daily rate as a credit. In either case, tell her "you're welcome" for getting the A/C repaired as quickly as you did, and move on.
-Ben
I'm very interested to see that in the Statutes.
Please post.
If it's true, we'll certainly update our lease and procedures.
Note: I am not an attorney. But, as an owner of rental property in Florida, this question regarding the landlord's responsibility caught my attention and I've done a little research. Florida State Statute does not appear to address air conditioning requirements for rental property. The Florida Landlord Tenant Act in Statute (83.51) "landlord's obligation to maintain premises" does not list air conditioning as a requirement. The Housing Code and (HUD) mention air conditioning but are only applicable if adopted by the local jurisdiction. Those standards do not require air conditioning but if present maintenance is required. In this case, The City of Oviedo does not appear to have adopted those minimum standards. Unless your lease details you're responsibility for this scenario, reimbursing the tenant for alternate housing while repairs are made is really up to you.
Responding to a tenant's notification of a malfunctioning (HVAC) system within 24 hours is reasonable. After all, if it was your residence and your (HVAC) system that broke down it would be at least 24 hours before a service tech would be available, unless you are willing to pay an additional emergency fee.