First time landlord..a/c isn't working, what to do...

First time landlord..a/c isn't working, what to do...

Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2010 · 40 posts · 1 vote

I just rented out my condo for the first time(in southern california). I lived there for a couple years and never really used the A/C. When it got really hot, I would turn it on once in a while but it never really worked that well. It did always work though.

Anyways, now it's not working and it's gonna cost me 1-2k to repair or 3-5k to put a new one in. There's really no need for A/C 95% of the year so I'm wondering what to do. I'm at the beginning of a 2 year lease with my tenant and don't want to strain the relationship but also can't afford/don't want to spend that much on an item like A/C.

I didn't explicitly state in the ad or the lease that there would be A/C but when the tenant asked me about it during the showing, I said there is A/C but doesn't work well or something to that effect(maybe I said I never really use it, I honestly don't remember).

So is it my responsibility to fix the A/C. From my initial research it sounds like the law is on my side, I don't have to fix the A/C since it's not a required item to maintain standard of living. But I also don't want my tenant to be pissed at me, this has all happened in the last day btw. There is especially hot weather right now and normally the apartment is just fine without AC. I was thinking about maybe just buying a portable unit(5,000 btu's) as a temporary fix for $200-$300 which would be a lot cheaper than repairing/getting a new AC.

Advice?? Thanks!

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Investor · Central America, Panama · Member since 2010 · 423 posts · 293 votes
13y

Fix it.

You'll pay for it with tenant turn over (no rent coming in) if you do not.

A tenant who stays is worth more than the cost of the HVAC unit

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  • Member since 2011 · 798 posts · 216 votes
    13y

    You could get yourself a basic window unit for about $120 each and install a few. No, the tenant's not going to like that since they knew the place came with central A/C and they even asked you about it when they showed the place.

    I suppose $120 window units could be a cheap patch job for a while until you can come up with the full $1000 to repair your central A/C. Even so, if it's 85 out, most people want A/C.

    While I think tenants are overly needy and whiny when an A/C unit goes out for a few days awaiting a repair during 100+ degree weather when their A/C was set to 70 and the unit froze up, having zero A/C that works for months when you rented a place with A/C isn't fair to them.

    I would really suggest a home warranty for future problems. $500 a year fee plus $100 deductible when you use it can help ease the larger expenses like a new A/C, oven, pipe burst, or other repairs.

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