Do you rent and have A/C problems? Is your landlord not helping? A legal expert breaks down what you can do

If you’re familiar with the summer heat here in our valley, well then you know that air conditioning is a necessity, especially with triple-digit temperatures like we’re seeing this week.

What happens if you’re a renter and your unit goes out? What are you entitled to? I went to a legal expert to find out.

VIDEO: Ryan Ketcham talks to a legal expert about what you can do if you have issues with your A/C unit

Do you rent and have A/C problems? Is your landlord not helping? A legal expert breaks down what you can do

Channel 13 has received several emails from renters with A/C issue and disputes with their landlords over the reports.

Jordan Savage of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada says it’s an issue they deal with all the time in the Summer.

Its pretty consistent,” said Savage, an Attorney with the Consumer Rights Project for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.

Savage tells me it’s also one of the most important consumer issues they see.

Tenants need to be aware that air conditioning is considered an essential service and landlords have a responsibility to provide working air conditioning,” said Savage.

What if that’s not happening though?

Savage says there are several steps you should take.

If your air conditioner breaks down, the first thing to do is to notify the landlord in writing preferably by certified mail,” said Savage.

He tells me email or text could be sufficient, but the certified mail gives the sender a receipt, tracking history and even electronic verification that the mail was delivered, if you request.

Then the landlord has 48 hours to make reasonable efforts to fix the A/C. That could mean scheduling an appointment, having someone inspect the unit or even providing swamp coolers or other devices to keep the unit cold while they are actively working to replace the A/C unit.

He says there needs to be a concerted effort to fix the issue, though, in this time frame.

What happens if the landlord does not make the effort?

Nevada law gives several remedies, number one, you could withhold your rent, you could fix the problem yourself and deduct it from the rent, you have also the right to terminate your lease early,” said Savage.

Another remedy includes staying at a hotel and deducting your rent total from the amount the hotel costs.

Savage says your rights to these remedies trump any lease. He says a lease cannot legally remove any of these remedies.

He says you need to document it all, though. That means any receipts and letters, you must keep.

It is best practices would be to say, to write a follow-up letter, now that the 48 hours has passed, I am exercising my right under Nevada Law,” said Savage.

Savage says the landlord could then try to evict you with a pay or quit notice. He tells me those notices usually have a deadline of 7 days to pay the rent or vacate the premises to avoid an eviction, or the renter could also oppose the eviction by filing an answer, then a court hearing would be set.

This would be seen in eviction court. This is where all the documentation comes in handy, as the judge would need to see all the notices from the landlord, and the ones you send to the landlord, the reasons why the renter didn’t pay rent or stayed at a hotel, then any receipts that correspond.

Savage tells me the court usually sides with the tenant on these cases if they have enough proof.

You could also file a lawsuit against the landlord in another court.

The tenant always has the right to sue the landlord in either small claims or justice court for any monetary damages that they suffered as a result of not having air conditioning,” said Savage.

As long as you document everything and follow the procedures we discussed, Savage says you should have a case and could pursue legal help.

If you want to proceed with legal action by yourself, there are also steps to do so. Here’s a link from the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada for more details.