If my air conditioner does not cool my apartment to below 90 degrees, is my landlord required to replace it or can I move without breaking my lease?
UPDATED: May 20, 2012
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If my air conditioner does not cool my apartment to below 90 degrees, is my landlord required to replace it or can I move without breaking my lease?
The apartment that I rent has evaporative cooling. My house stays above 90 degrees. Does my landlord have to fix or replace the unit or can I move without breaking my lease?
Asked on May 20, 2012 under Real Estate Law, New Mexico
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
Without trying to throw this back in your law, you need to read the lease agreement and see how this issues is dealt with. If providing the AC is part of the rental (and I am assuming that it is New Mexico) and it does not work then the landlord is breaching a warranty of habitability. But you need to go to court and ask the court to allow you to pay your rent in to court until it is fixed or allow you to render the lease void. If you just leave you will be the one in breach. Good luck.
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