Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC

Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC by hajungko (florida) on July 3, 2015 @20:43

My tenant left a voice message that the AC was not cold enough at 4 pm on Friday.(6/26)

He said it happened since Wed(6/24) when he came back from travel.
My husband and I work till 9 pm during weekends, so we stopped by checking AC if my husband could fix at 9: 30pm.
My tenant knows we work late and allows us to visit late night after work.

The condo was about 85 degree, but he was not willing to open any window because it did not work to cool enough. I know it is hot during the day, but I did not break it. He talked to me like he was out of control.
The way he talked to me was really rude to me even though AC broke and he was uncomfortable.

The company I normally call for service closes on Weekends.
I told him I would call AC company to schedule on Monday early morning.
He was really angry and said that it could not be acceptable.

My AC is 15 years old and i might consider to replace the New AC if there is major issue on My AC. I noticed my tenant that I schedule it on Monday.

He left a voice message that he was going to stay hotel because he could not stay home at 5:00 pm. He expected to deduct the cost from rental payment.

He sent me a rental payment and his receipt for hotel from 27th, 28th, 29th ($199) plus 1 day cost work ($200) total of $400.

"The Cost of My "Inconvenience"" $400.
I fixed AC on Monday morning 28th. He still attached the cost for hotel for 29th.

My husband and I tried to response his call and try to fixas soon as possible
This is first time to have a tenant. I do not know what I should do.
Should I deduct the cost for the hotel and work by law?

Plus My tenant is the person who calls for minor things all the time such as the window could be opened by himself and request to change light bulb and shower head. Ice maker did not work ( he only had to push down) ...

I started to response him to his email Since he was furious when I schedule AC service on Monday and he talked so loud like I was a deaf.

However, He did not want to contact by email or text or call. He wanted to talk face to face related the cost of AC.

I do not know the law related to this issue.
I need to know what I did wrong and right.
Do I need to pay for all the cost of his inconvenient fee?
I need help!!!!

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Re: Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC by Anonymous on July 4, 2015 @00:14	[ Reply ]

If the unit is deemed uninhabitable, you are responsible for the cost of reducing the rent by the number of days the unit is uninhabitable. I don't know if your state considers broken AC in June as uninhabitable. Some judges may view your actions to fix the AC as an implicit admission that the unit is uninhabitable.

Re: Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC by Helen (IL) on July 4, 2015 @06:10	[ Reply ]

This person is a PITA. Solution to suffering through the tenancy of this PITA is to not renew his lease. Another is to send him the "happy" letter and release him from the lease. You can find info on the "happy" letter in the LPA documents.

Re: Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC by Kevin on July 4, 2015 @11:04	[ Reply ]

First read your state Tenant Landlord laws. Did he subtract the $400 from his rent? if he did you may be able to start eviction process. If no, prorate rent number days house uninhabitable and offer happy clause.

Re: Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC by Anonymous on July 4, 2015 @20:01	[ Reply ]

You absolutely have to read and understand your state's LL/T law! Why are you renting out property without knowing the laws under which you must operate? Which of the alternate solutions are available in your state is described in your state's LL/T. It is unlikely that you have to pay for his alternate accommodations. More likely, if and only if your state considers AC to be a habitability issue, you may have to abate the rent for the days at issue.

Re: Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC

Re: Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC by MrDan (Georgia) on July 5, 2015 @20:18	[ Reply ]

As you can see, the tenant has no right to issue partial payment or deduct monies from the rent due. The tenants option is to issue the landlord written notice of non compliance (broken A/C ) and allow the landlord 7 days to repair. Florida Statue 83.56 Termination of rental agreement.� (1) If the landlord materially fails to comply with s. 83.51(1) or material provisions of the rental agreement within 7 days after delivery of written notice by the tenant specifying the noncompliance and indicating the intention of the tenant to terminate the rental agreement by reason thereof, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement. If the failure to comply with s. 83.51(1) or material provisions of the rental agreement is due to causes beyond the control of the landlord and the landlord has made and continues to make every reasonable effort to correct the failure to comply, the rental agreement may be terminated or altered by the parties, as follows: (a) If the landlord�s failure to comply renders the dwelling unit untenantable and the tenant vacates, the tenant shall not be liable for rent during the period the dwelling unit remains uninhabitable. (b) If the landlord�s failure to comply does not render the dwelling unit untenantable and the tenant remains in occupancy, the rent for the period of noncompliance shall be reduced by an amount in proportion to the loss of rental value caused by the noncompliance. Section 1a would apply in this case, which you would only owe for the three (3) days the tenant vacated the rental. You have no obligation to reimburse for the one day of lost work. (even as this tenant failed to send written notice, it might be wise to just proceed as he has and not argue whether the rental was indeed untenantable/uninhabitable) You could send the tenant a letter stating the law in general terms and ask the tenant to pay the remaining rent due. Explain that only by law, the tenant is entitled to the three days of no rent and that lost work is not covered. If the tenant pays up, I would send a $25.00 gift card (tax deductible). If tenant fails to pay remaining due rent, the landlord can issue a three day notice. If you do not know how to properly write and serve a ' 3 Day Notice' seek help from your attorney or your local apartment association.

Re: Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC by Andrea (GA) on July 7, 2015 @13:14	[ Reply ]

You asked for your obligations under the law and Mr. Dan has provided the answers you were seeking. However, you say you are a first-time LL, and I just can't help suggesting that sometimes common sense is a more helpful guide, particularly if you intend to continue being a LL well into the future. Your post indicates that you are in Florida, so I will make the big leap that your rental is also there. This occurred in late June, when there were very high temps in the Southeast. You acknowledge that your AC unit is 15 years old, which means it is probably coming to the end of its useful life anyway (in other words, it's unlikely that the T "broke" it). You say that when you entered the unit at 9:30 PM, well after the heat of the day, it was still 85 degrees inside. You may have no legal obligation to pay for his hotel (depending on habitability laws in your state), but what is the right thing to do as a LL? Unless you yourself would be willing to spend your time in a unit that may well over 95 degrees during the day (and I know very few people who would be willing to), then I think you should pay for the hotel, so long a he is presenting you with a legitimate receipt. If you had made these arrangements at the time with him, you would have retained some control over the situation. IMO, there are several things you did poorly here. Why did you go to "fix" the unit at 9:30 PM, only to find that you couldn't? Find an HVAC professional you can trust, and send him when there is a call about the AC (this won't be the last). It is always better to meet him, but if you can't, you can't. At least you would have gotten the process rolling. Your T should not have spoken to you the way he did, though I get his frustration. You say he calls for minor issues (in your opinion), so you may not want to renew him. But if you intend to continue being a LL, remember that the law provides only the barest minimum requirement. It does not tell you what common sense should. If you expect Ts to be uncomfortable in your unit, you won't have them very long (especially good ones).

Tenant asked for his inconvenience Cost without AC - Landlord Forum thread 336916