Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Tuesday sent a cease-and-desist letter to a senior living home in Phoenix. Tenants there have reported their units reached sweltering temperatures after the air conditioner broke last week.
Mayes warned management at the Urban League Manor that failure to promptly fix the broken AC could be a violation of the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act or Phoenix city code. She gave a Friday deadline to repair the AC and report back to her office.
The property management company did not respond to KJZZ’s request for comment but told ABC15 they were working to resolve the issue.
The state’s Landlord Tenant Act requires landlords to keep appliances like air conditioners in working order to keep a space safe to occupy. Some cities have even more specific requirements. In Phoenix, landlords are required by a city ordinance to provide a cooling system in good working order. It must cool the space to at least 82 degrees if it’s an air conditioner, or 86 degrees if it’s an evaporative cooler.
In a press release, Mayes said Arizona tenants should not hesitate to file a consumer complaint through her office if their landlords do not quickly address air conditioning concerns during these extreme temperatures.
“We need to be sending a signal to landlords that they have obligations under the law. And if they break the law, by not upholding their end of the bargain when they took money from tenants to provide safe and livable conditions, including air conditioning, then we are going to come after them,” Mayes said in the press release.
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