AC Broken, owner says wait.

[CuriousMatt]

What is the law about renting your house to another person? I believe I read somewhere that the owner must provide the house with a livable condition or something like that right?


One of my friends asked me a question that kinda interested me so I thought i'd ask you smart people.

His family is currently renting a house and paying monthly payments to the owner, however since he has moved in he's noticed that there are a lot of problems and he has notified the owner of it and they have fixed it but this time:

The AC is messed up and it is more then 86 degrees inside his house in this hot Texas weather without any AC - the owner continues to tell him to wait for her and she'll get it fixed but its been a few days and He has a 4 year old.

The question is - If he were to go to a hotel until the AC is fixed is the owner of the property obligated by law to pay for all hotel expenses?

 

[Lill]

In most states...not sure about Texas...an AC is considered a luxury and not a necessity. Have your friend check his/her lease to see if AC is included and if so ...are repairs the responsiblity of the landlord. BTW...also in most states...the landlord has up til 7 days to fix or replace items included in the lease.

 

[wickidgemini]

Not sure if this was resolved or not but being I live in Texas, I do not believe that Texas is one state where AC is a luxury because of the tempatures can be very high Texas and depending on where you live (south) there isn't much of a winter and the nights are not always cooler than during the day. So I believe Texas is exempt from that I haven't seen anything anywhere that states other wise unlike other states. But non the less I found a site that helps inform renters of their rights on repairs and the legal steps they can take, and on a issue of repairs your supposed to give written notice, and the landlord has 7 days to repair or replace the problem, if after 7 days if it is not done than you are supposed to submit in writting once more and send certified mail giving them adaquete timming to have the proplem fixed if after that time than you can have the repair done your self and charge it to the landloard. But there are certain steps that you must follow before getting to this point so you will be covered legally. They also provide a form that you can print to submit to the landlord for the repairs. It does state they do have to repair certain things in a certain time frame that effects the living conditions of a family dwelling. Such as with a AC depending on the situation and how it effects the dwelling they may have the full 7 days to repair it, but if the AC is causing the family not being able to live in the dwelling than they have upto I believe 48 hrs to fix this. But if say a cabinet door broke off than yes they have up to 7 business days to repair it. Do not quote me on the time frame it is specified and if you do a search you will find the specifics.
I am not sure if I am able to give the link on here or not but if I can I would be more than happy to supply this informative link, it has helped me a bunch in understanding the process. Because it does give you links to connect on how the "law" is written on situations. The site just helps you understand what is being said. One little note I am disappointed in alot of how laws are written when it comes to Renters/landlord rights. I figured the renter would have more rights than what it seems but actually its the other way around. In Texas your pretty much at the landlords mercy on alot of things. Again this is in Texas this doesn't reflect all states.
But if I am able to post the inlink some where on this website let me know and I will