Moved into these apts little less then a year ago. Moving out in a couple of months. AC previously has died down at least five times. They of course come fix it the same day. But in the last month it's happened at least 8-10 times. Always happened during the day so they would come. Not last couple of nights it has happened at night! I am so pissed! Is there anything I can do to get of my lease earlier or withhold payment or something? Already bought a house we are moving into next month so will be losing a month and half of rent at the apt anyways. So thats another reason.
No, AC is considered a luxury. Withholding rent can only occur if major repairs are negated, a broken door, no running water, etc. What you can do is pay your rent and then sue. The thing is, if you do withhold the rent illegally then your landlord can counter-sue you and get back what he is owed plus interest. To be certain, check you're county/state penal codes. No matter what your lease agreement says, those codes will supersede it. In some states AC is considered a necessity, like here in AZ. So check it out...
I am Indian, but what does that have to do with it. Its not that big a deal, but the AC not working just pisses the living day lights out of me. Called them right now and made em send somebody over.
It depends on your contract. I have only seen TREC promulgated forms which only cover temporary leases up to 90 days during a sales transaction. People who lease like property managers usually have attorneys write their own contracts.
As already mentioned leasing conditions is not my forte. But as someone stated is does indeed come down to if ac is consider a luxury in your state.
Have you ever spoken directly with the landlord and asked him to replace the A/C since it has broken down so many times? What has he/she said?
We ran into this issue after hurricane Ike. What is considered livable should dictate rent obligations. Obviously, having no AC does not render your apartment unlivable but if you came up with some kind of medical condition or had kids, then you might have a case. Otherwise, you're at the mercy of the landlord with this and would have to sue for not meeting contractual obligatons on your behalf as specified in the rent contract.
get everything in writing - the a/c was broke for 'x' amount of days and it took 'x' amount of time for them to come fix it. they are not obligated to do you any favors, but in a similar situation when i was living in an apartment they prorated my rent. if you make enough of a pest of yourself and they are not total cheap asses they might do something similar. since you are not renewing your lease they are probably not too worried about keeping you happy though.
ehhh....its working again. and now the maintenance guy assures me it won't break again. can't wait to move out of these ****ty ass apts. if anybody is looking for apts, do NOT think about City Vista close to downtown. Looks really nice, awesome location, but very cheaply made.
I don't know anything about leasing or land lord and tenant rights but I believe the land lord has a certain time from your complaint to fix the issue and if not resolved you can seek damages or break the lease. It all has to do with what your lease says though, read it. Having a A/C is a luxury item in houston? Bhaahaha! Yeah right. Some suggestions int he link: Renter's laws - free advice
