YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsBusinessMention of the amenity in the rental agreement can bolster a case for a remedy. Question: When I moved into my apartment, there was a window air-conditioning unit there. Three months later, the unit broke and has remained broken including during the last month when we had some hot spells. I have asked my landlord to have the unit fixed on several occasions, but he hasn't responded. Do I have any remedy here? For example, can I stop paying rent or ask the city staff to cite him?Answer: California law requires a landlord to provide "habitable" premises and establishes the elements that must be provided in a rental unit to meet that requirement. The elements of habitability are basic, such as functioning plumbing and electrical systems, adequate water and heating supplies, and effective weather protection.Other elements in a rental unit that most of us would expect to be required, such as appliances, are not included on the list of habitability requirements;

they are characterized as amenities. The distinction is important, because certain tenant remedies such as "repair and deduct" or "rent withholding" require proof of a serious habitability violation.Most local code enforcement departments will limit their inspections to habitability issues. They are unlikely to inspect for lack of air conditioning, unless the unit's malfunctioning is because of a more basic issue such as faulty wiring.Whether you have any remedy for failure to provide an amenity may depend on your rental agreement. If the air conditioner was listed as being in the apartment in either your rental agreement or a related document, such as a move-in checklist, you have the argument that failure to maintain the unit violates the rental agreement. Even if the unit was not mentioned in any of the written rental agreements, you may have the argument that it was an implied condition if, for example, the landlord showed you the air conditioner during your pre-rental tour to persuade you to rent the unit.

We strongly recommend against trying any remedy reserved for habitability. You could find yourself losing an eviction case. Instead, you should look at a contract violation remedy such as a Small Claims Court action. You could seek monetary damages for a rental rebate based on your loss of ability to enjoy the unit in hot weather. You could also pay for the repair and include the cost in your court case.can an ac unit be too bigEichner is director of Housing Counseling Programs for Project Sentinel, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based mediation service. ac window units prices Seizure Led to FloJo's DeathHis 104 scores make his caseRestaurant review: South Beverly GrillBrutal Murder by Teen-Age Girls Adds to Britons' ShockComaneci Confirms Suicide Attempt, Magazine SaysTerms of Service|central ac unit how it works

Show filters Sort by Most relevant Most helpful Newest to oldest Oldest to newest High to low rating Low to high rating Age 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 and older Gender Male Female Verified purchaser I LOVE this a/c. I am super heat sensitive and our central a/c is from 1968 and cools only the downstairs. Purchased 3 of these, 1 for each bedroom. We have slide windows so had to do a bit of rigging but well worth it. See pics not the best but you get the idea. This is the best thing we have ever done for my sanity!!! Says cools approx 150SF, actually a little more but follow the chart to be safe. It was 111 degrees the day we put it in and I was completely comfortable, which says a lot!!! PS we used white foam board facing outside and black inside. Double layer for insulation. Will take it out when it cools down. We have it resting on a shelf made of plywood with a shelf bracket for support. Yes () No (8)  Report Yes () No (8) Verified purchaser It was finally time to replace my two window air conditioners.

After hours (and I mean, hours!) of research, reading consumer reports, reviews and looking at Lowe's, Home Depot, & Best Buy I finally decided on this $112 air conditioner. This is the best price I could find at any retailer. I bought two of them and installed both units today, so I cannot vouch for their longevity. They can be returned for a full refund within 30 days and come with a one-year manufacturer warranty. The units are lightweight and may easily be installed by one person. It took me about 20 minutes to install the first one and about 10 minutes to install the second one, since I already knew what I was doing. Both began blowing cold air immediately and my home is very cool as I write this review. A couple things to note: This unit is actually 5,100 BTU not 5,000 as advertised. The energy efficiency ratio is 11.2 and each unit only pulls 4 amps of electricity (read: lower electricity bills). On the back of the unit, the condensate (water) gets splashed over the coils outside the window.

If you prefer, just pull out the black rubber plug on the bottom of the unit and let the water drain that way. It's less efficient in keeping the back of the unit cool, but much less messy. This drain is a nice feature. Bottom line: this is the best value I found for the money. Lightweight, easy to install, and works properly. I am happy with my purchase and believe I got a great deal. Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () A great buy for the price! Especially if you had bought it on a whim in a hurry for the hot weather due to a recently broken unit. This is the first time I had purchased an Haier brand AC. I was able to do most of the installation myself with the exception of needing my husband to hold the unit on windowsill while I anchor the window shut to keep it in place. That's certainly a two-person job. The instructions were very easy to read read and fallow. This keeps our little bedroom nice and cool. Our room gets cold really fast when set on full blast. A small feature that I especially like about this model is that the front panel of the unit in held permanently in place with screws and the air filter is made easy to pull and slide out and convenient to clean every two weeks as needed.

My last unit (an old Arctic King model) had a front panel that was easy to snap off and my toddler kept taking it off which eventually lead to her pulling a wire that stopped the AC from running anymore, and the front panel wouldn't snap back on. Hopefully ArcticKing had changed that in their newer models. But I'd definitely recommend Haier. Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () I live in a mobile home, our living room and kitchen combined is about 350 sq ft, and I have this unit in the living room. It cools down that space surprisingly well, seeing that it's only meant for 150 sq ft. Without the A/C our house was pretty much the same temp as outside, so on a 85 degree day, it was about 85 degrees inside as well, but now with this A/C it's around 72-75 inside if it's 85 outside. The trick with this A/C is if your using it for larger spaces than 150 sq ft make sure you turn it on early in the morning when it's cooler, then it will maintain a cooler temp in the house. If you have the A/C off, and you don't turn it on until mid day when it's already 85 out, it won't cool down the house that much.

If I could go back I would probably have gotten a 6000 BTU because we're cooling around 350 sq feet, but that being said, this 5000 BTU unit does a very well job for what it's made for. Price is nice, and not expensive on the electric bill either. Yes (1) No (3)  Report Yes (1) No (3) Bought this last year and used it in a regular/smallish bedroom with the door open to help cool the rest of the house. Kept the open bedroom SUPER cold when on high. Packed it away for the winter without even cleaning it (Shame on us), got it out this year and cleaned it, plugged it in, and it works just as great. Makes the expected air conditioner noise but not bad. The real kicker, and what made me come on and do the review, is that the kids just knocked the thing out of the window onto the ground (single story) and the thing didn't even come unplugged! It was still running sitting on the ground! The air conditioner is perfectly fine no weird noises no broken plastic, nothing. WOW would buy again or recommend in a heartbeat.

Yes () No (5)  Report Yes () No (5) We purchased two in the same day after our Central AC unit went out. They were very quick to install and within minutes had the room cooled down. Nice to have the option of high and low and the multi dial speed we purchased two of these and a pinch via Walmart online when are Central AC unit went out I would definitely purchase again and then next time would be willing to invest more money into a programmable thermostat type. Would definitely recommend these models they are not too loud and they do a very good job. Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () Verified purchaser This is a VERY basic AC, as it displays. I bought it for my sons room but we've been using it in mine until we put the 15,000 unit in. It cools my bedroom down nicely, it's not a big room. However if the door is left open for even just five minutes (hard to keep shut, with kids all over the place) you'd have no idea the ac was ever even on. It keeps pretty cool but definitely not something you'd be overly happy with if you like to sleep like an Eskimo.

There's just not a whole lot of power in it, but there isn't supposed to be. But it is as described. Yes () No (5)  Report Yes () No (5) Verified purchaser I got this unit 3 years ago and am still happy with it. It's only 5000btu's so I wouldn't use it in anything but a small bedroom but it keeps the room comfortable. It's not too heavy (maybe 50ish pounds) so it's relatively easy to put in the window as long as there's one person to hold it in the window and one person to put the window down. So yeah, if you're looking for a cheap little a/c unit to cool a small bedroom that you won't have to replace every year I think this is a good one. Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () Verified purchaser Perfect size for our bedroom, right on time for this weather Yes () No (9)  Report Yes () No (9) Verified purchaser I purchased this AC 6 months ago. From the very beginning it had an excessive amount of condensation, but for the price I did not expect it to be perfect so I was willing to overlook this.