My F'in electric bill

[Easy Mac]

Was $230 fucking dollars. Its a 2 bedroom, 1 bath second floor apartment. Both bedrooms are probably 10x10, the living room is about 5x12, the kitchen is about 10x8, and the bathroom is freakin tiny. How the hell is it $230 you may ask?

Because the AC is broken. We asked the landlord to fix it the week we moved in, and he said he did it. Turns out he didn't. It reads that its 90 degrees at all time, so if we set the thermostat anywhere below 90, it never shuts off. And it gets freaking hot in Charleston during the summer, so we can't just shut it off completely. Is there any recourse for this bill? Can we force the landlord to pay for it or something?

[QuikSand]

Can we force the landlord to [do something not in the rental agreement]?

I don't like your chances.

[Easy Mac]

Well, there is a reference in there to him fixing whatever is broken, so the fact that he sadi he did when he really didn't would have to be some sort of breach? Eh, my boss studied real estate law, so I can always ask.

[oliegirl]

Damn...our bill for a 2 story (with vaulted ceilings) 3 BR, 2 1/2 bath house was $140! And we are in Atlanta so it's hot here too...you need to bitch to your management company.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'd think that you have a good chance, but only if you have documentation of asking him to fix it definately and then (possibly) documentation of him not fixing it (dunno if that's really needed though).

don't know any real estate law though

[oliegirl]

They should have an idea of what the electric bills run in the summer, I am sure they have some vacant units they have paid power on in summer months. Ask to see them and compare...if there is a big difference, you have a leg to stand on. If not, well, you are screwed :(

[Rockstar]

If your bill is that high I would go out and buy a window unit for the bedroom. Turn the other air unit off. Or you could send a letter and make three phone calls every single day until the landlord fixes the problem. Or even better, Just show up at seven O'clock PM on Saturday night at your landlords house full family in tow and tell him/her that the air unit in your pad is STILL not repaired and your family needs a place to stay until it is. Show him your high electric bill and explain that you dont have any money left for a motel room so you hope he doesnt mind if you just crash at his place until the air is fixed in yours. Your air will be fixed the next day. Especially after you leave a weeks worth of beard hair in his bathroom sink.

[cthomer5000]

i'd think that you have a good chance, but only if you have documentation of asking him to fix it definately and then (possibly) documentation of him not fixing it (dunno if that's really needed though).

don't know any real estate law though
Rule #1 - get everything in writing. Send everything by some form of certified mail (something you can track) and keep copies of everything.

One bad landlord taught me more about this sort of shit than i care to know.

If you have a written request for him to fix it then you mighthave some recourse. In that sort of instance you can usually play hardball and just deduct whatever amount you figure the overrun is from the rent check. Of course if you just moved in it might be worth $100 bucks or so just to keep from setting yourself up for a year of battle with the landlord. It's your call.

[Loren]

kick that landlord in the nuts, he should discount half of that bill off your next rent payment since he never fixed the a/c in the first place...andddd our bill last month was 383:(

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Just tell the landlord you will deduct the excess electric bills from your rent. If you're good tenants he won't want to kick you out and he'll fix it. If he tries to evict you for nonpayment of the rent, go through the legal process, when it comes talking to the judge, tell him the deal. Whether in writing or not, a residential tenant will win this fight 99.9% of the time. Even if you didn't discuss it, the judge will likely find this to be a breach of an implied condition of the lease. You'll get to stay and get credit for the extra heatihg bill. Of course, if you don't like it there, you can always move. In fact, if you just gave him notice that you were moving because of the bill, he would likely fix it so as not to lose you as a tenant.

[Blackadar]

I hate to tell you this, but...

...in many states, including North Carolina, Air Conditioning is not considered a necessity but a luxury. Therefore, the landlord is under no obligation to repair it in any given time. I dealt with this over 10 years ago - I had no A/C for 3 weeks - and called an attorney only to find out there was little I could do.

Of course, my final resolution was to tell the leasing office that if they didn't fix it, I would disconnect the one off my apartment unit, steal the one from the empty apartment across the way and install it myself. And then I'd throw my old unit into the pool. They fixed it within 24 hours...

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Yeah, I know it is not a basic necessity, but his case deals with an A/C that won't shut off -- not the normal situation where the A/C is broken and doesn't turn on at all. Plus, if the landlord advertised A/C when he rented it, then it has to come with the deal as part of the parties' bargain. You may have gotten bad advice from that attorney you queried if it was advertised.

Making tenant pay extra for an A/C that doesn't shut off is a loser for the landlord. His lease would have been for a reasonably working A/C, or at least one he could choose to shut off to avoid the cost - unless the landlord told him it doesn't shut off and he still rented the apartment. I would still tell the landlord to screw himself and not pay the full rent until he fixes it.