What can I do if my landlord doesn't fix my maintenance issue?

Question

I live in Denver and the summers are hot. I have a window unit air conditioner that works, but shorts my apartment. I have to reset the circuit breaker in the apartment every time. I've contacted her and she told me the maintence guy came and said I had too many plugs in the outlet. I've reduced the number of plugs in the outlet, but the problem still persists. I've contacted her to let her know, but she will not return my phone calls, or my e-mails. It's been 3 weeks. What can I do? There is a maintenance clause in the lease saying she is responsible, but is a/c an amenity in the state of Colorado where she doesn't have to fix it? My apartment get extremely hot, and I've bought fans, but it doesn't get the heat out. I've opened windows, and there's still a problem. I've tried to call housing authority counseling but there's nobody to talk to. I seriously have no where to turn. Please help!

Answer 1

First, check your air conditioner filter to see that it isn't clogged with dust.  If it is, replace it and see if that reduces the amount of time it runs.

You may need a larger circuit breaker, that's a job for someone with knowledge about electricity. You can start a house fire by overloading the outlets.  

You do have a place to get help; GO to The City Housing Authority, (this is a different office than housing authority counseling) and they can get the job done.  Show them your lease when you talk to them and explain the problem.  The air conditioner comes under the maintenance section of your lease and she is required to keep your apartment livable.  With all that heat, it is not livable.

You can break the lease because she failed to keep her part of the maintenance agreement. For your protection make pictures of every room in the apartment when you vacate and leave it in as good a condition when you leave as it was when you arrived.  That way, she will not be able to keep your deposit.  You should send her a letter by certified mail, return receipt, telling her of your intentions to vacate because she failed to perform the necessary maintenance on your apartment.  Outline the number of calls and requests you have made and her refusal to return your phone calls or respond to your emails.  You should provide her with a 30-day notice if possible but it may not be required since the apartment is so unbearably hot.

Answer 2

You cannot have anything plugged into the same circuit as an air conditioner.

You are over loading the circuit, this is not a maintenance issue.

I'm and electrical engineer.

Answer 3

Without communication it is hard to deal with anyone. I would speak to an attorney in finding out your rights as a renter in your area and take it from there.

Answer 4

You are correct, an a/c unit can be considered a luxury, but the problem is much deeper than the a/c.  If your entire apartment goes dead when you plug in your a/c, then there is a serious issue with the power for that apartment.  Depending on the square footage of your apartment, would depend on how many "amps" you need to run the power in the building.  There are a lot of electricians who will come out and give a "free estimate" on the power to your building.  This could help determine if the landlord needs to add more amperage to your space.

No matter what you do to try to settle this, DOCUMENT everything.  If the living conditions become unbearable, then you will need documentation to either give your notice to move out, or have the documentation so that you can deduct any maintenance from your rent that she refuses to handle as the landlord!

To find out the laws in the state of Colorado for renters, google renters rights, CO and see what comes up.  Good luck!

Answer 5

You are overloading the circuit on which the AC unit operates.  You can probably remedy this by checking the loads on the circuit next time the AC unit pops the breaker.

When the breaker is off, simply plug a small item into each electrical socket to see if each outlet shares the same circuit as that on which the AC operates.  Once you have determined which outlets are on that circuit,  find OTHER outlets into which you can plug these items, running ONLY the AC unit on that circuit.  Understand that there is probably more than one wall outlet working off that AC outlet.

If your AC unit is 'elderly' it also will draw far more current than the more modern units draw.  You don't indicate how large is the AC unit or its power draw.  Some of the older ones required a dedicated 20 ampere circuit to operate properly.

Your other outside chance is that the breaker has aged and no longer will carry the current load for which it is rated.  Even a new breaker is only designed to carry roughly 80% of its rating.  Therefore, a 15 ampere breaker will snap under a continuous load of roughly 12 amperes.

If your AC unit draws more than the rating of the breaker (especially on start up-that's where the biggest power draw occurs) all you can do is get a different AC unit which sucks less power.  OR you can ask that she provide a higher rated outlet for the AC unit, but she isn't under any obligation to do so.

And yes, AC in Colorado is considered an amenity UNLESS your lease specifically includes working AC as part of your lease agreement.

As well, ignore the advice about 'causing her to upgrade the wiring to current code'.  She is under no obligation to do so unless the existing wiring causes a fire/safety situation.  If the breaker trips, it is doing what it is designed to do.

Answer 6

Your overload problem has to do with loads on the circuit that the breaker is protecting, not just what you have plugged into that particular outlet.  The breaker trip amps are based on the wiring used in the apartment.  Therefore, its the wiring that can't handle the AC load.

I'm guessing that your landlord is not going to rewire the apartment just so you can run an AC unit.  Find out what the breaker is rated for and all the loads on the circuit.  Move the loads you can to a different circuit and get a smaller AC if necessary.

You knew the place didn't have central AC when you signed the agreement.  Assuming a window unit would work was unwise.

Answer 7

It's not an A/C problem....It's likely a electrical wiring problem.  The house is not up to code if it is shorting out every time you turn on the A/C.  Older wires weren't meant to carry today's bigger electric currents and often trip breakers or blow fuses.   Let her know that her house is not up to code and it takes one phone call from you to the building department, and they'll condemn the house until she rewires it with the up-to-code wiring.  That may make her think about fixing the problem instead of avoiding it.

Answer 8

AC is not an amenity if the landlord rented the unit with that AC installed. If it is there, it must work and if it does not, then the landlord must fix it. What happened? The landlord added AC to increase rent, but neglected to put it on its own circuit. Bad landlord! Bad!

In California, we deal with it like this:

http://www.caltenantlaw.com/Habitability...

It sounds like your landlord is inept at repairing the problems. You'll need to hire a pro, and deduct that from rent, but only after establishing the claim in writing.

It sounds like you need a new electric circuit or two, rated for the load you want to run. Only a licensed electrician should do that work.

Answer 9

I know that here in Ohio, you can put your rent in 'escrow'  which means you still pay your rent, but to a bank or lawyer. Your landlord can't collect the money until the issue (s) have been resolved. It typically needs to be a major repair, such as the roof leaking, etc.

I think however, in your case, that A/C is an amenity. Sadly, I don't believe it is something, unless stated in the lease, that will be persued by a lawyer or could be deemed important enough to put your $ in escrow.

Shorting in your wiring system is, however. (My apt. does the same if I run the vaccum while my A/C is on. I, too, had a window unit, but do not this year because my landlord wouldn't replace the old one.) So, yeah, A/C is something of an amenity, and your landlord will probably do nothing unfortunately because of that, and if your wiring isn't shorting out when not using A/C, then it's just too much juice. Contact Legal Aid, a free consulting service, and see what they may say. You could always go to small claims court as well, but that will probably fair to be more of a headache than it's worth. Good luck!

Answer 10

Most house circuits are 15 amp circuits. Check to see what the amp draw is on the A/C unit. It is probably around 12 amps my guess. It doesn't take much else plugged into the same circuit (not outlet) to overload the circuit and "blow" the breaker.

An easy way to see what outlets are on the same circuit is to go outside and trip the breaker manually. Then go through the house and plug something into every outlet to see if it has power. You'll be surprised at the number of plugs and ligfhts they may put on one breaker.

It is not a code issue. Houses were built long ago to handle simple electrical devices. Not A/C units and other high amp products we now have. It is simply overloading the circuit.

You already stated that A/C is an amenity. So you can't report them or force them to "repair" the issue. You need to spend some time and find out what you have on that circuit and reduce the load.

Answer 11

If it is a safety or health issue and your landlord refuses or ignores your communication, you CAN have it repaired and deduct it from your rent- especially if you have made repeated efforts to resolve the issue.

Answer 12

If it comes down to it...refuse to pay rent if things don't get fixed...and if the apartment isn't associated with your credit...LEAVE! Try the housing authority again!

Answer 13

report her to the town as her power unit for the apartment is not up to code,

Answer 14

In the UK you can pay to sort it out yourself then deduct it from the rent. Check the law where you are may be the same.

Answer 15

The housing authority will not help you.   The landlord is not allowed to enter your apartment and move your appliances around.

It sounds like you have too many things drawing energy off of the circuit.    You should cut it down to 2, the AC and one other.   A/C draws a lot of power, but it not the cause of the problem, you are just putting too much demand on the circuit.

Answer 16

Thats just not right.we are  A landlord and when our tenants have a problem we are there to resolve it.. you should call the labor board and put in a complaint.