Is it the landlord's responsibility to provide A/C window units when the central air breaks down

Question

this is the second time the central air breaks down in the past three months. Everyone here in these apartments is miserable, we have no cool air, and its like 100 degrees in here. The manager does not tell us what is going and they dont tell us when they are going to fix it. Who can I complain too? Is it the city's job to do or say something?

Answer 1

If "air conditioning" is listed in your lease, then yes it is the landlord's obligation to fix it ... but don't get too excited just yet, because generally most states give landlords 30 days to make repairs that are non-essential. And if you've never sent a written maintenance request or formal letter to your landlord about the air conditioning, then it can be sort of a vague timeline as to when that 30 days actually began. Also, a landlord who has "made attempts" to have a non-essential service repaired in that 30 days would most likely be given the benefit of the doubt, even if the problem is not fully resolved.

If A/C is not in your lease, then the landlord can pretty much fix or not fix at his own leisure.

Answer 2

In most places, Heat, water, and electricity are considered essential, and anyplace without them is "uninhabitable".  I know of no state that puts A/C on the list.  Read your lease, perhaps that mentions it.  

Answer 3

No, it is not.

It's the landlord's responsibility to keep things working that were working when you moved in ... but when AC breaks in the middle of summer, it can take a week to get someone out to look at it, and another week to get parts.

If they have called a repair service, that's all they need to do.