WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Every morning for the previous three and a half weeks, Lys Joseph props open the entrance door to his West Palm Beach residence.
“It’s to make a little bit of air circulate in the house,” mentioned Joseph.
His front room fan is all the time on. However, the air conditioning unit sits nonetheless.
Joseph mentioned it is damaged and residence advanced upkeep employees can’t repair it.
“They tell me they can’t find a piece that they need to put in the AC,” mentioned the safety guard. “They say anywhere they can’t find it.”
He is apprehensive that the recent residence is harmful to his household, particularly his 6-month-old granddaughter.
“That’s why we want to let them know it’s serious,” mentioned Joseph. “They have to do something.”
Contact 5 requested the Palms West Apartment advanced why it is taking so lengthy to assist Joseph’s household. Office employees wouldn’t remark.
Kaan Pala/WPTV
But the advanced isn’t obligated to repair the damaged air situation unit.
Under Florida regulation, landlords should not required to provide or maintain air conditioning.
“I had somebody from my staff bring it up a couple of years ago, and I almost fell out of my chair,” mentioned State Representative Michael Grieco. “Whether you’re a climate change denier or not, it’s hot. It’s Florida.”
He launched a invoice to power landlords to provide air conditioning as a part of an ordinary lease.
The invoice died in committee.
“There’s always some organized pushback because it puts a lot of pressure on apartment complexes and things like that,” mentioned Grieco.
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“As a human, you rent somewhere to live better,” mentioned Joseph, who went to court docket to ask that he pay lease into an escrow account.
If a choose guidelines in his favor, the lease cash will keep in escrow till both the issue is resolved to the satisfaction of the court docket or if the cash must be awarded to the owner or tenant.
Grieco isn’t searching for re-election however hopes somebody will champion making air conditioning necessary in Florida’s subsequent legislative session.
Landlord-tenant attorneys mentioned renters ought to ask for air conditioning upkeep to add to their leases earlier than they signal.
While landlords underneath Florida regulation should not have to provide or maintain air conditioning, these are a number of the gadgets they’re required to provide:
- electrical energy
- operating water
- safe roofs, doorways, and home windows
- smoke detectors
- trash removing
- warmth