In Texas, can my daughter deduct the cost of repairing the AC from the rent?

Question

The realty co. that owns the apt. complex will not come out and fix it on the weekend, and it's the middle of summer.

Answer 1

NO! TX law does NOT provide a Repair and Deduct right for tenants. If a landlord fails or refuses to make essential repairs in TX, you can have the repair work done at your own expense but must request reimbursement from the landlord. If the landlord fails or refuses to pay then you must sue, normally in Small Claims Court.

Air conditioning is seldom considered an essential service even in the heatwave we've been experiencing recently. If a resident in the unit has a medical condition that requires air conditioning she may have a basis for requesting emergency service but generally that would only apply if the landlord had been previously notified of the need, normally at lease signing.

Answer 2

No. A/C is not considered a health and safety issue, it is an amenity not necessary for the quiet enjoyment of the property. She may want to review the rental agreement to see if there is an exception to allow for her to have the A/C repairs made and deduct them.

Answer 3

She should not be able to, as most apartmetns do not have central A/C which is part of the apartment structure. Window units are optional applicances and fall under the same rules as non-built in microwaves.

The apartment likely hires a repair person who charges more for weekends, which is causing the delay.

Unless your city has some local law that 100% of landlords must provide A/C they are optional items and actually legally the personal property of the owner, not part of the apartment itself.

Answer 4

I would send the reality company a registered letter stating that it needs to be fixed. If the AC was part of the lease then if the if they do not fix the AC then I would sue them for breaching a contract. An explain that to them in my letter.

Answer 5

I don't think so but you really do need to check to see what the law in Texas says
LANDLORD TENANT ACT: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/statutes.html See chapters 91-92-93-94 or http://www.housing-rights.org/subject_index.html and or http://www.housing-rights.org/tenant-landlord_info.html
Tenant rights a pamphlet from the Bar Association: http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=pamphlets&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=10048
Landlord duties to repair a pamphlet from the Bar Association: http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=pamphlets&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7091
Landlord tenant relations brochure from the Attorney General’s office: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/AG_Publications/txts/tenant.shtml
Landlord and tenant issues from Texas Law Help: http://texaslawhelp.org/TX/StateChannelResults.cfm/County/%20/City/%20/demoMode/%3D%201/Language/1/State/TX/TextOnly/N/ZipCode/%20/LoggedIn/0/iSubTopicID/1/iProblemCodeID/1630100/sTopicImage/g-housing.gif/iTopicID/498/ichannelid/91/bAllState/0
Best of luck on your research

Answer 6

No, not unless her lease/rental agreement specifically says that any repairs she does, she can subtract from the rent.

Answer 7

What does her lease say? I doubt she will be able to do this. Most complexes have their own employees to do this, so they are not likely to pay the retail price your daughter ends up getting.

Answer 8

yes if she paid and has a receipt she can submit a copy with the payment keep a copy just in case they lose it though