Are Landlords Required to Provide Air Conditioning? Renting an Apartment Without AC

Renting an apartment without air conditioning in areas where it gets really hot can hard. Apartment units can reach up to 100 degrees in the summer. In early 2018 I graduated college and I was working for a media company that had a lot of potential with a lot of room for growth. At 23-year-old that wanted to explore but was limited because I was living in my parent’s basement.

Wanting to move out I wanted an apartment to call my own; I wanted to come home at any time I wanted without being questioned by my parents. Spending all of 2018 saving every cent I had, I sacrifice the best parties in town just so I wouldn’t have to spend money on gas and alcohol. I looked at apartment ads online to get an idea of what I was going to be spending each month.

Even though they seem a bit steep I wanted to take the chance. I told myself if I budget every month I would be just fine.

Landlords Can Be Cheap

Since it was my first apartment I wanted something small and affordable or how some people might call it “cheap”. I went to see a few one-bedroom apartments in the downtown San Diego, CA area. But they were way out of my budget, I would have to work over-time at least three times a week just to live comfortably in that area.

I had to bring myself back down to earth and tell myself I would have to get an apartment in a more “urban area” if I wanted to spend under $1,100 a month.

A few months go by and I see a For Rent sign on an apartment complex by my gym, I talk to the manager and she tells me they want to rent it out as soon as possible. The manager lets me see the apartment and before I could finish the entire tour I told her I would take it. Yes, without asking any questions.

Summer Heat

I moved in early January, later that month I realized that the central air conditioning didn’t work. But I didn’t mind because it was still chilly that time of year.

Around June it starts getting a bit warm so I buy a small fan at my local Wal-Mart and it helps, for now. July comes rolling in and the weather shifts from warm to hot this is when I realize I need to talk to the apartment manager or landlord about the central air conditioning issue. The landlord tells me he can’t do anything about it and that a written statement was given to me when I signed the lease.

It’s Hotter Outside Than Inside

By the following month, the heat is unbearable; the portable air-conditioning that I had bought a few days earlier wasn’t able to compete with the California heat. I look at my thermostat and it’s 98 degrees; it’s so hot that it actually feels cool outside.

The following days I avoid going home because it had gotten so hot that it was making me sick. I would stay late at work, go to a friend’s house but that got old quickly. What was once my safe house had become my torture house.

Air Conditioning and Heating System

For anyone that is reading this make sure you have central air conditioning that works and a decent heating system. I was young, naïve, and eager to get out in the world when I should have done more research.

Moving into my own apartment has been one of the best experiences but it had its downside.