Landlords must give written permission to allow air conditioning to be installed. Air conditioners can make apartment living bearable, especially in hot climates or during the summer. Whether an apartment can have an air conditioner depends on a variety of factors, such as local ordinances, the apartment lease agreement and the landlord. Before a tenant decides to rent an apartment with or without air conditioning, it's a good idea to become familiar with some of the landlord/tenant laws concerning installation and maintenance of air conditioners. Air Conditioners Not Required While some people may consider air conditioners a necessary item, California law considers them amenities. In other words, air conditioners are not required in rental properties to make them habitable. According to California Civil Code 1941, habitable rental units must have working gas, heat, electric and plumbing systems; sanitary conditions with adequate trash receptacles; working sink, toilet and tub or shower;

fire and emergency exits; working smoke detectors and deadbolt locks on all outside doors. Air conditioning is not on the list of features that landlords must provide with an apartment, so tenants cannot force a landlord to put in an air conditioner. Air Conditioner Installation Tenants cannot install an air conditioner in an apartment without written permission from the landlord. Most apartment leases will not allow tenants to make changes or improvements to the rental unit without the landlord's consent. This includes satellite dishes, security systems and air conditioners. Tenant improvements and alterations are considered damage to the existing property because they make structural changes or affect the appearance. The law allows the landlord to charge the tenant for the cost of repairs or restoration following an improper air conditioning installation. It is also a violation of the lease agreement and may result in eviction. If the landlord grants permission to the tenant to arrange for an air conditioner installation, the agreement should be made in writing to protect both parties.

Air Conditioners in Lease Agreement Some apartments are advertised as including an air conditioner and the signed lease agreement includes air conditioning as part of the rental property. Because a working air conditioner is part of the contract between tenant and landlord, the landlord is obligated to ensure the air conditioner is kept in working condition. Failure to make timely repairs to a broken air condition can make the landlord liable for damages. who makes the best air conditioning unitsThe tenant can take the landlord to court for violating the lease agreement. cheap ac units for windowsAir Conditioning Repair The landlord must repair air conditioners when they break due to normal wear and tear, acts of nature or other causes outside the tenant's control. how to determine the right size ac unit

A tenant must cover the cost of repairs to the air conditioner when the intentional or neglectful behavior by the tenant or the tenant's guests cause the damage. The tenant can either pay for repairs directly to the serviced technician or reimburse the landlord for repairs made, in these cases. References California Department of Consumer Affairs: Landlords' And Tenants' Responsibilities For Habitability And RepairsThe California Landlord's Law Book: Rights & Responsibilities by By Attorney Ralph Warner, David Brown, Ralph E. Warner, Attorney Janet Portman Photo Credits Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images Suggest a Correction The Best Window Unit Air Conditioners The season for sweating is just around the corner, which means many of us will be looking to add an air conditioner. Now's the advisable time to pick one up, before retailers sell out during the apex of summer. New home goods review site, The Sweethome, has an exhaustive roundup and recommendations... The Sweethome narrowed their list of air conditioners units from thirty down to four 8,000 BTU units and three 12,000 BTU units, from LG, Frigidaire, Sunpentown, Friedrich, and Kenmore.

Each was rated by the following  Ease of InstallationEase of UseAirflow ControlEase of MaintenanceCooling PowerPower UsageNoise LevelA very interesting note discovered during their  there was very little difference in the speed at which 8,000 BTU and 12,000 BTU air conditioners cooled down a room. So don't overspend on a larger unit in the hopes it will cool down a smaller room faster, you're just wasting energy. If you need help determining the size, direct yourself over to Haier's AC SmartSelector page: Their final recommendations: for spaces up to 450 square feet in size, the modestly priced $239.00 Frigidaire FRA086AT7 hits all the marks for price, power, efficiency, ease of use, and features. The 8,000 BTU unit also comes with a remote, always a plus when it comes to controlling cooling or heating from the comforts of a bed or couch.Those with larger spaces around 550 square feet are recommended the step-up 12,000 BTU model, the Frigidaire FRA126CT1, available for just a little bit more, at $298.00 online.

Pages of more information about what to look for when shopping for a window air conditioner, including additional notes about specific models, over at The Sweethome.SAN ANTONIO - Residents at a Northwest Side apartment complex were evacuated early Thursday morning due to a fire caused by an air conditioning unit, fire officials said.The fire was reported around 1:45 a.m. at the Hearthstone communities complex, found in the 8800 block of Cinnamon Creek off of Hamilton Wolfe road.Firefighters said the fire was caused by an electrical short inside an air conditioning unit. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found that the fire had spread to an attic.Residents next door had to be evacuated as firefighters worked.No one was hurt by the fire, and as of now there is no damage estimate.The investigation is ongoing.Stay with KSAT 12 both online and on-air for more information on this developing story. Copyright 2016 by KSAT - All rights reserved.The latest batch of room air conditioners in Consumer Reports’ tests meet tougher energy requirements so in addition to keeping you cool they help you keep your cool over rising utility bills.

Small window air conditioners are the biggest sellers and we found five to recommend that cost in the $200 range. We also tested more than a dozen portable air conditioners but unfortunately, most struggled to cool a room. Here are the details.Our top small window air conditioner, the GE AEM05LS, $210, gets excellent marks for cooling a room of 100 to 300 square feet, is fairly quiet, and bounced back from brownout conditions when power is iffy. And at that price we named it a CR Best Buy, which combine performance and value. Four other small GE models made our top-picks list including the GE AEH06LS, $160, from Sam's Club,  and the GE AEL06LS, $180 from Home Depot. We also like the Friedrich Kuhl SQ05N10B but at $580 it costs almost three times as much as the others. If you like that brand, consider the Friedrich Chill CP05G10, $220. It’s a little noisier than the Kuhl but quiet enough. Almost all the room air conditioners in our tests have digital controls and remotes. We did test three small units with mechanical dial controls and although they get very good scores for comfort, none performed well enough on our ease of use tests to make our list of picks.

GE also tops our tests of mid-sized air conditioners, which cool rooms of 250 to 400 square feet, followed closely by the LG LW8014ER, $240, a CR Best Buy, and the Friedrich Kuhl SQ08N10, $700. We also took a look at the Quirky Aros, $250, made in part by GE, and it was indeed a little quirky. The air blows out the top instead of toward you, which is a nice option if you’re sitting in front of it. And the Quirky Aros has a sleek, modern look with solid rather than accordion-style side panels. But its scores for noise and energy efficiency were lackluster.The same brands dominate our picks of large air conditioners, which cool 350 to 650 square feet, with the LG LW1214ER, $350, and Friedrich Chill CP10G10A, $400, leading the pack followed closely by the GE AER10AT, $250, a CR Best Buy. If you live in an apartment that doesn’t allow window air conditioners or have casement or another type of window that can’t accommodate a window unit, your only option may be a portable air conditioner.