As Arizonans brace for the summer heat, it’s important to remember that as a tenant you have the right to have safe liveable conditions, and property owners have a responsibility to maintain their rental units.
With extreme summer heat often comes rising indoor temperatures. Experts with the City of Phoenix are discussing the Cooling Ordinance and tenant's rights under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
Through the Human Services Department, free Landlord and Tenant Program education is available to landlords and tenants to learn about their rights and responsibilities under the Landlord Residential Tenant Act.
Julie Bordelon serves as the Human Services Program Coordinator. She says people know they need to pay their rent on time, but there’s so much more under the act that tenants aren’t aware of.
She said that’s the purpose of the program.
“If there’s a problem with your HVAC, you still have to pay rent,” explained Bordelon.
Specifically in Phoenix, under the cooling ordinances, the HVAC system needs to regulate the temperature no higher than 82 degrees, and evaporative coolers can not be any higher than 86 degrees in habitable rooms.
If you have a problem, the tenant is required to submit a written notice to the landlord about the problem. Under the law, the landlord and/or property manager has 10 days to repair problems, that time is shortened to five days if the situation involves a health or safety issue.
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If the property owner does not act, you can reach out to the city’s landlord-tenant program for help.
“{If} They have done that in writing, and the landlord is not fixing it they can call us, and we’ll educate them on their rights. And we’ll make a referral to the neighborhood services department, and they will do an interior inspection,” said Bordelon.
Christina Vasco, co-compliance manager for Neighbor Preservation, says once a complaint is filed they will make contact with the tenant right.
“As soon as we receive the complaint, we are making those calls, as long as the tenant is available, we will be out there the same day,” said Vasco, describing the process if someone reports broken air conditioning.
A notice of violation is issued to the property owner, and they have 24 hours to correct the violation. “They (Inspectors) will reach out to the property owner to make sure they are aware of the cooling ordinance and provide recommendations so they can accommodate their tenants,” Vasco said.
Bordelon said their free program does not provide legal assistance, but there are some things that tenants can do now to prepare for the rising indoor temperatures.
“The biggest thing that we find is that tenants often don’t communicate with their landlord or their property managers because they’re not quite sure how to contact them,” said Bordelon.
Know who your landlord is and how to contact them. Be prepared ahead of time, Bordelon said, “Know how to put in a request for works, don’t wait until the middle of the day when it’s 115 degrees to figure that out.”
