All Forum Posts by: Abigail K.

 The issue was initially diagnosed as an air conditioner that was low on Freon. When our tech added the Freon, the AC began to work properly but quickly broke again and we noticed a leak. It took two tries to fix the leak. As of the end of last summer I have a very pleased text from the tenant confirming everything was back to normal and in working order. Now he has turned the unit on for the first time after the winter and it is no longer working again. The unit is likely to need replacement but the issue is not being ignored, we simply cannot fix it in the blink of an eye. As I’m sure many of your experiences have been, it take some time to arrange for repairs and will take even more time if a replacement unit needs to be installed. I appreciate all of your input, I don’t believe AC is considered a right of habitability in new jersey and even if I’m being overly sympathetic I can’t see how lacking ac in 60 degree weather would constitute an emergency. I will set some guidelines of communication. Do I have any recourse if he disregards them? 

Hi There,

I have a tenant who has been having issues with his air conditioning on and off since last summer. Each time, we send our super to check the controls and if we need to, we call the air conditioning tech to come as soon as he can. Each time this has happened, the tenant calls and harasses me by call and text incessantly, cursing me out, calling me a slumlord etc, threatening to withhold rent if it is not fixed within 24 hours. The latest instance has been this week (where the weather has not exceeded 75 degrees and mostly has been in the 60’s). I have stopped answering phone calls and resorted only to written communication (for my records) but have noticed a pattern of very emotional and aggressive behavior from this tenant (as well as extremely unreasonable expectations about what the timeline is to have something fixed). Do I have any grounds not to renew his lease or evict him on account of his constant harassment? Or can anyone offer how they would handle the situation. New Jersey laws make evictions near impossible it feels. 

I’m getting 50-60 text messages and 5-6 phone calls in a row if he does not receive an instant response from me. I calmly respond with only the relevant maintenance information and then he continues barraging me with personal info and threats. I do not want to ignore real maintenance requests from him (as it is my job to react to those) but if I could I would block his number completely. 

Thanks in advance.