Despite how hot it is, landlords in Tennessee are not required to keep the air conditioning running.
In our changing climate, that probably comes as a surprise.
However, unless it’s in the lease, nothing in Tennessee’s Landlord-Tenant Act gives renters the right to air conditioning.
“I think it’s unfair. It’s inhumane to me because without air we can’t live and breathe,” said Anita Brown.
i think it is disingenuous to represent that AC is a standard or required by law for a rental anywhere, at least in the US. I do find it shitty that the AC included with the unit is damaged, and land(slum)lord won’t fix it, but again, unless it’s in the lease there really is no requirement that the LL provide it in US. I think it is good to start a discussion on if AC for a rental should be the law, (edit: i also would strongly support this) but i doubt we will see that become the case, especially in southern states which probably would need it most.
i think it is disingenuous to represent that AC is a standard or required by law for a rental anywhere, at least in the US.
Having AC is a standard and required by law in many places in the US
https://www.rent.com/blog/keeping-cool-tenant-landlord-responsibilities-air-conditioning/
that didn’t have any list of states, but my curiosity lead me here https://propertyclub.nyc/article/apartment-air-conditioning-laws#what-states-require-air-conditioning
i was pleasantly surprised to find 24 states that do require it, with some other states that have some loopholes.
I tried to find the list but brain failed me and i kept getting bar association stuff. Did you know that while Missouri doesn’t require AC it does require that units be kept to a ‘habitable’ temperature, and there’s enormous case law defining that word that makes it defacto required but technically not.
If the building becomes unlivable it’s an issue. high temps with high humidity can literally lead to heat stroke since no amount of fans will help since you literally can’t cool off even with sweating.
What that fix is, I’m not sure, but some buildings in areas of the south become ovens during heat waves and without AC people will get sick or die.
i absolutely agree, my point is less that there are or are not health concerns, just that it is currently not a requirement, at least anywhere I have lived. i believe it should be, but I know that the south passing legislation that helps vulnerable people at the expense of those who own property is probably never going to happen. i just felt like it was odd that the article was stating that there is no law in the state, without emphasizing that most states do not either.
Some areas have basic consumer protection. Such as a habitation must be fit to live in.
Renting out an apartment with 2 feet of water in it all times, or black mold, or no water or front door is often covered by specific legislation and then, if not, then by the consumer protection statutes.
Which may be the approach some lawyers will have to take if this gets bad enough.
“I can live in my apartment except for 5 weeks where I have to go someplace else” is what we may start seeing in future civil actions.
We also don’t technically require that you have a steady supply of oxygen in your apartment, but I’m guessing you’d find it unreasonable if you woke up in a vacuum.
Do we even have a law that says landlords can’t heat your apartment to 100 degrees Fahrenheit? Or a law that specifically proscribe noise machines? Do we really have to specify every fucking thing or can people just be reasonable?
I don’t know if you’ve seen all of human history, but no, people can’t be reasonable. Look at the need for mask mandates if you want a recent example.
can people just be reasonable?
Not when there are pearls to be clutched.
It’s just fucked up that an appliance that’s connected to the actual rental unit doesn’t need to be operational by law. I mean, if the 'fridge dies in a TN rental unit is the landlord required to fix it or does that need to be specified in the lease also?
It’s just basic consumer protection, IMO. The AC comes with the apartment, the landlord should be required to maintain it.
Central Air absolutely needs to be a requirement on all new construction. And window units need to be mandatory unless requested otherwise in every bed room.
It’s way too hot these days in the car majority of the US for this to be safe.
Why would you require both central air and window units?
I meant to imply if there wasn’t central air.
Blame building codes and politics. Including an AC in every build could inflate the costs making it unaffordable too.
I doubt adding AC would make it unaffordable, other than the renter having to pay the electric bill. The federal government, some cities, and most electric providers offer incentives to purchase and install modern HVAC units. window units are also an affordable option included in or allowed in many rentals.
The federal government, some cities, and most electric providers offer incentives to purchase and install modern HVAC units
Which is because there’s a market to sell them, make it mandatory and there is no reason to have sales or grants, it’s a guaranteed sell. Which is also politics….
It’s an extra 3-5k on the sticker price, that’s unaffordable for a large swath of people, especially when the house is only 60k anyways.
I agree with your comment but your numbers are all way too low.
But the post in question says there is AC. It’s just broken and the landlord doesn’t want to fix it. That’s not ok
If somethings not required by code, and if its not part of the lease why would it need to work?
Because it was represented as a feature when someone decided to rent the place. Otherwise it’s a “bait and switch” and should be fraudulent
For example, nothing requires an outlet or switch to work, as long as it’s safe, but we expect that to work. I doubt anything requires all burners on a stove to work, but it’s certainly expected. Nothing requires windows to open but it’s expected.
Because it was represented as a feature when someone decided to rent the place.
Pardon? It wasn’t on the lease, so it wasn’t.
For example, nothing requires an outlet or switch to work, as long as it’s safe, but we expect that to work. I doubt anything requires all burners on a stove to work, but it’s certainly expected. Nothing requires windows to open but it’s expected.
Actually, codes and legislations do! Your entire comment is misguided yeesh. AC IS different since no codes, legislations, or the lease requires it. A stove is require by code, legislations, and lease, so if it doesn’t work, that’s an issue.
So you understand the very important distinction now….? Probably not, but do you?
When I was 21 and moving into a shitty rental with my now wife, the place didn’t have AC and we moved in during a terrible heat wave. We bought one window unit so we could at least sleep at night. Later bought one more to make the whole space livable. Those units aren’t expensive, pick up an extra shift or two and you can buy one. When we moved into a place with central air we sold one and gave one away.
pick up an extra shift or two and you can buy one
If all it takes is a shift or two, then landlords can surely recoup the costs with an extraordinarily small increase of rent (pennies or single digit dollars).
Agreed. If it’s law they’ll get it done (mostly, there are always bad landlords in court). But there are still a lot of places where it isn’t law, and I’m not just talking about the US. But if it’s too hot to be at home, spend a little extra time at work and fix the problem.
anything to fuck over poor people…
I had a friend that was not allowed to run air conditioning in his flat. The landlord said the old wiring could not handle it. I said that all you needed was a decent UPS (they make these just for window units in India), but my friend just moved instead. 100+ F is too hot in a flat during Summer.
I used to live in an apartment that also explicitly disallowed window units. The apartment did have a fireplace though, and I figured hot air rises, so we just shoved a window unit in there and let the hot air vent out the chimney.
It did the trick, and we never agreed not to install a fireplace unit.
The landlord said the old wiring could not handle it.
If wherever it was was dry, you can use an evaporative cooler. They can only cool so much, but they’re far more energy efficient than an air conditioner.
You can also get low-end portable air conditioners. These are noisier and not as energy-efficient as a window unit, but you can get pretty small-capacity ones that will run on regular 120V lines, don’t need 240V. It’ll maybe keep a room cool.
https://www.amazon.com/GE-Conditioner-Dehumidify-Evaporation-Installation/dp/B09WSH44RQ
Here’s an 850 watt one. Most microwaves will pull more power than that.
something in common with prisoners! Hell yeah Tennessee!
We could just start building houses so they don’t need them like they do in Hawaii. The well designed houses are designed in a way that allows maximum airflow when the windows are open because the price of running an ac there is astronomical.
There’s a lot more regular breeze in Hawaii
Ya, you got me there. You can also build them like termites in Africa do with their hives. They build them in a way to vent heat, and so they catch the minimum amount of light and heat.
There’s also windcatchers, the “ancient air conditioners” of Iran.
If you’ve ever been to the deep south usa like Tennessee you would know that’s not viable. Temps hit 100 F easily most summers. Humidity is often very high in combination with the scorching heat.
Fortunately it is definitely NOT the norm for homes to be built and/or rented that do not have AC. I’ve rented numerous cheap homes and apartments in the South, every one had AC. My cheapest rental home was $300/mo and it had all utilities (and central HVAC) working except Internet.
Ah yes, Hawaii, where it gets to a scalding 85F on the hottest of days
I feel like the habitability requirement might be governing on issues of extreme heat.
If this was Phoenix Arizona we wouldn’t be having this conversation because all the tenants would already be dead. If there’s a danger to tenants the answer seems obvious.
I actually agree that nobody has a “right to air conditioning”.
But people do have a right to whatever’s been promised in a contract they signed.
This lady rented an apartment with an air conditioner. She’s paying for this apartment. The landlord isn’t allowed to just ignore requests for maintenance because they don’t feel like providing the air conditioner any more.
The air conditioner is part of the deal they agreed to, and the landlord isn’t holding up their end of the deal.
This is soon to pass as a bylaw in my city. I hope all the landlords have chapped asses over it. ALAB.
As an American you don’t have a right to universal healthcare and you’re worried about air conditioning?
people used to build houses that were designed in such a way where you didn’t need air conditioning. In tropical country such as Vietnam where I live this is still the case. I have to wonder if the United States builds houses inefficiently on purpose.
I think we got lazy with our designs once centralized air was mainstreamed. The house my father grew up in the 1950s was designed like you mentioned. It would only allow light through during certain times of year/day with its overhanges and louvers and it jad more windows which allow more air flow…now according to him it was still a miserable place to live during the 1950s Texas summers…
Modern houses with their insulated walls and double windows are better at withstanding summer than the ones I’ve lived in while my only solace for 85+ degree nights was a fan.
I’m all for demanding proper maintenance from landlords, even if it’s not on the lease. You visit a unit that has a thermostat on it, that’s advertising it has a working AC. It’s disingenuous from the landlord to claim the AC is decorative.
But claiming air conditioning is essential is utter horseshit.
AC is not going to change the presence of air, so I am not sure what the last quote is supposed to mean.
Most people at least in the South just say, “Turn on the air,” when talking about the AC.
Interesting. Never heard this, at least explains part of that quote.
But I get downvoted for asking, while the US people (as is usual) expect people to know some regional slang. Reminds me of this: TO: “someone was gassed” P1: “Gassed, what kind of gas?” -250 P2: “They were physically tapped, like a car without gas” +170
Since P1 still did not understand it, people got pissed, even mocking for asking, while the explanation of P2 actually contradicts the real meaning but gets massive upvotes (relative to usual numbers in that sub). You do not need to take my word for it, this is where it starts (who I call TO): link here
Excessive heat and related stress has unpleasant and sometimes deadly effects on human physiology.
Even affecting brain function.
Panting is one way of shedding excess heat, but if it’s so hot that even panting doesn’t work…
Yes, sure. Nobody says otherwise. But air for breathing is there regardless of AC, so I did not see how that is connected. Someone else said they just call AC “air” there, which explains it partly, but obviously you still do not need AC for breathing. That is in no way connected. You can breath super cold and super hot air without a problem.
Most American take ever…
How is a ‘right to AC’ gonna solve climate change lol.
Why does your version of climate change mitigation include intractable suffering from the poor and minorities?
Nice strawman argument, not really what I said haha
It does not matter whether you’re poor or minority or what. In Europe we all have to suffer. And 31°C is also quite common here in summer and barely anyone as AC.
There are some edge cases where it would make sense to have a right to it (medical conditions e.g.) but besides that I think it’s just an american privilege debate.
Tennessee is hot and humid.
Temperatures over 104f (40c) were common before climate change.
104 is the UK record from 2022. 113 for Tennessee, a record set during the great depression.
This is above the wet bulb level and AC isn’t a privilege because without it, people will die.
I took a measure from a friend’s house in east Tennessee the other day. 40-some percent humidity (really good!), but 88F in the shade, 93F in direct sun, and 116F when standing over blacktop.
2500 people die because of heat… Sure it sucks but that’s like almost nothing
Who knows, maybe next time that’ll be you in that statistic. Not that it’ll be a big loss for society
Houses are required to have heating so why shouldn’t we just change it to include cooling as well? Or maybe in your mind we should go the other way and stop requiring heating so we can all suffer in the winter too?
Btw plenty of people in Europe do have AC, it’s just that they usually tend to be portable units that can only cool one room at a time.
I’m not a Calvinist, you’re not going to be able to convince me that giving myself heat exhaustion will fix climate change. Come after my AC in the 40+ C heat after private jets have been outlawed.
