Do landlords have to provide heating and cooling in California rentals? Here are your rights
An early September heat wave broiled California, stressing the power grid while some endured without relief.
In the state capital, temperatures hit 116 degrees. It had never been hotter in Sacramento.
Air conditioning could be considered somewhat of a luxury in the state, as it is not required that landlords provide tenants with the cooling systems.
The Sacramento Code Compliance Division stated in an email to The Bee that “air conditioners make apartment living more bearable, especially in hot climates or during the summer” but “it is not always the landlord’s responsibility to provide one.”
If your apartment comes with an air conditioning unit, your landlord would be responsible for its upkeep.
“Landlords are responsible for upkeep on a functioning unit they own. Laws vary from state to state, but in California, there is no law requiring that rental units have air conditioning. In California, air conditioning isn’t mandatory for an apartment to be habitable,” the division wrote.
California considers an apartment habitable when “the rental unit is fit for occupation by human beings and that it substantially complies with state and local building and health codes that materially affect tenants’ health and safety”.
Although air conditioning does not technically fall into the state’s “habitable” guidelines, providing a fully functioning heater does. For cities like Sacramento, winter temperatures don’t typically fall lower than 50 degrees. Summer temperatures throughout the state have spiked into the triple digits this year, with little overnight relief.
Your landlord is also required to provide proper ventilation in your rental. Which can help during the hotter summer months. This means that “windows in each room must be able to open at least halfway for ventilation, unless a fan provides mechanical ventilation.”
What if your air conditioner breaks?
Almost 17 million people in California are renters, according to a 2021 study by California Budget & Policy Center. It’s difficult to determine how many of those rentals already come with air conditioning units. In older cities like Sacramento, where buildings date back to the early 1900s, not all homes are set up for central air.
The Bee called the Sacramento renters hotline and confirmed that California law requires landlords to fix air conditioning units already in apartment — in the event that one breaks down. However, landlords can choose not to take responsibility for the air conditioning repairs if they state it in the lease.
Tenants must give landlords “a reasonable period of time to make repairs.” Which, according to California law, it “usually considers 30 days to be reasonable, but a shorter period may be considered reasonable, depending on the circumstances,” according to the California Tenants: A Guide to Residential Tenants’ and Landlords’ Rights and Responsibilities handbook.
Simple ways to keep your apartment cool without an air conditioner
If you’re living in a rental without an air conditioning unit, these are small cooling tricks you can implement to help keep the heat out of your apartment, The Bee previously reported.
- Use blackout curtains.
- Buy a fan.
- Avoid using the oven during peak heat hours.
- Change your light bulbs to CFL or LED lights.
- Check your AC filters.
Additional Resources
This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Do landlords have to provide heating and cooling in California rentals? Here are your rights."