In your State, is there a consensus on what is a 'reasonable amount of time' in which a landlord has in getting a tenant's Central Air Conditioning fixed? Does your lease address this issue in any specific detail?

Yesterday, at 4:30p.m. I get call from a tenant in a panic because her Central Air unit quit working on 2 days ago. I tried to explain that since it is now late on Friday afternoon, it 'maybe' Monday before I can get my HVAC tech to her house. That statement just pissed her off to the Max and then 'war of words' started. (This is one phone call I should not have answered).

In a heated voice, she demanded that I put her and her family up in a motel room (at my expense of course) until repairs could be made to her air conditioning system. She claimed it was 90 degrees inside her house and her children were suffering from the heat (B.S.). My reply was,.." I have only known about your A/C problem for 10 minutes now and you are making unreasonable demands on me and it is really pissing me off too"

5 hours later, at 9:30p.m., the tenant's Mother (who is not on the lease) calls me and another knock-down drag out fight on the phone ensues. I could feel the N-word about to come out of my mouth but I just hung up the phone instead.

reasonable is what a homeowner living in their own house would be able to achieve. I had one ac go out this week. I called the two HVAC places I use, first one couldn't come out for three weeks. The second could come out on Friday.

I have a portable air conditioner that I will put in their house until someone can come. (tip: put a washing machine pan underneath in case leaks) I think that is something a good LL would do.

I also would discount the high temp inside as a result of her failing to notify you timely and the temp rising for two days after the ac went out.

also, one strategy I use is to get on schedule of more than one HVAC place, a lot of times they will call on short notice and say they have a opening in schedule and can come out.

Ken,

Out of 17 tenants, I have only one that is a 100% Drama Queen and my patience with this lady is wearing thin. This is not the first time we have exchanged words over heating/cooling issues.

Roy I'm in shock. As a LL that word that almost crossed your lips should be permanently removed from your vocabulary. You are running a business and have people who rent from you not "TYPES" of people.

With that said. The answer is ANSWER machine. All calls are screened. Your answer and my answer are the same-- we have the same-- we hear "it broke 2 days ago but I'm just calling now" statements all the time.

My words are the same: Gee I wish you would have told me when it happened. I just did let the hvac guy leave a job and now I have to find someone. "I'll do my best" . Leave it at that. They may rant and rave-- but the answer is still the same-- I'll do my best-- good technicians are hard to find last minute.

My first 11 year in Atlanta GA I lived in a 2 story home and had no air. I worked nights so slept in the day time-- NO Air.

It is reasonable to contact HVAC company and get on list. I take fans and window AC over for them to use. I might even through in some pool passes or coupons to get ice cream.

Also STOP WITH INVOLKING the Happy clause at every issue inn life-- Gee's can no one handle an issue head on?

MYOB,

The way I address problems head-on, using your own words here, is by answering my own phone, even when I should not have.

roy, you should have a spare portable or window a/c on hand for tenant ac break down (and of course your own a/c breaking down).

I didn't say don't answer her. Screening and formulating your answer is what's needed.

Call the code people? -- why do you think they answer the phone Friday afternoon?

another tip: if they have CENTRAL air , turn the tstat fan setting to ON instead of AUTO. that will circulate the cool air from the portable or window ac unit thruout the rest of the house.

Roy, I've had a few tenants scream at me during the heat of the moment. I can live with that knowing that people do lose it some times. However I would never tolerate a tenant screaming at me to jump thru hoops because they chose to wait several days to make me aware of a problem. I also don't discuss housing problems with anyone whose not on the rental agreement.

In my area unlike LTD's area, non working central AC isn't a life threating problem. Most people here get by with the cooling effect of the ocean, fans or window AC units.

I would imagine that most LLs in your part of the country would keep a few window AC units on hand to help lessen the effects of a prolonged non functioning central air system. I know I have portable electric space heaters for no heat situations.

Since you have had issues with this particular tenant in the past, it's time to clean house. I wouldn't do it today or even this month but before too long this tenant would either be paying substantially more rent to me or living some where else.

IMO life is way too short to tolerate unreasonable behavior from anyone let alone an entitle princess.

Steve (MA)

'Entitled princess' is exactly what I am dealing with here.

In California, it depends on where they are. Fresno, in July,is different from San Francisco, in October.

Roy, buddy!

This is not a tenant problem. This is a management problem. Good news: you can easily fix this and never have another War of the Words.

The fact that AC goes out is normal LL stuff. Sometimes it stops on Friday at 4:59 PM. Sometimes is stops Wednesday morning and the tenant doesn't report is until Friday at 4:59 PM. Regardless, the LL should have an action plan which is known to the tenant so everyone is on board with expectations. The military taught me this: when everyone knows the plan, most people are willing to put up with a certain amount of discomfort because we all understand there is a timeline and a process to follow.

RSMO doesn't specifically define "reasonable" amount of time, so I spell it out in our lease. 3 days for emergency repairs, or we start to pro-rate the daily rent. I borrowed this from Mr. LL...Jeffrey Taylor. Also, the clock starts ticking when the report is made between the hours of 7 AM - 7 PM. Reports received AFTER 7 PM start the clock ticking at 7 AM the NEXT DAY. They see this in the lease, I explain it to them, they put their initial next to it and we have buy-in from day one.

I have four recommendations to avoid this issue in the future:

1) Spell out "reasonable" in your lease. Zero arguments then because it's what we all agreed to.

2) No more phone conversations. You have heard me countless times say, "All calls go to voicemail." Unless you enjoy verbally sparring with your little princess tenant, I suggest you adopt this policy. Text or email responses only. Then if they get stupid with you, you have a record of it AND you have time to "cool off" before accidentally firing off a word or phrase that could land you in trouble with Federal Fair Housing law.

3) Parent communication. Nope. I only talk to people on the lease. Mom can leave her tirade on voice mail and I will simply delete it. I am not required to talk to anyone on the phone, least of all a 3rd party busy body.

4) I keep 3 window ACs on hand for emergencies. If I get a call today at a reasonable time, I will have it installed within 24 hours. Usually an 8,000 or 10,000 btu unit so that can cool up to 400-500 sq ft to a fairly okay temp. It may not be arctic ice cold like some tenants like, but it shows A) I am taking their concern seriously and B) We care about their comfort. Takes 15 minutes to install and another 15 to remove. Might even consider leaving it there for a few weeks in case the first repair to central system doesn't hold.

TX doesn't define reasonable time but most courts around here expect 7 days unless there are extenuating circumstances (IE: tornado, hail storm, etc).

That said, I always keep a couple of portable units that I can pop in in a couple of minutes for tenants who wait until the weekend to tell me the AC isn't working.

Roy, I realize you are from Alabama, but I too am shocked that such words even pop into your mind let alone almost come out of your mouth...very disheartening.

I too am going to encourage you to keep small units on hand - 5k BTU will cool off a bedroom at least until proper help can arrive.

We keep a couple of ACs and a couple of portable (rolling) heaters on hand as well. Sid is also right in that window ACs rarely give out at the same time.

If they don't let you know until "after hours" you can take it over the next day and still look like a hero.

WMH please don't make those excuses--"I realize your from Alabama". Don't care if your from timbuctooooo that has no place in our LL vocabulary. Would it be OK to hear or see this in VA? Sailors and dogs keep off the grass? It just doesn't fly in ANY state or by anyone posting here.

Ed, you live in PA. Have you ever lived down South, where it's not just the heat, it's the HUMIDITY on a 90% day that makes it so miserable?

I must have the best HVAC man my town has to offer. He came out today at 10:30a.m. and had that system up and running in 1 hour. And he did not add any additional charge for weekend/rush service. The blower motor had died, system froze-up and he installed a brand new motor and that was basically it.

Roy,

MY state says the tenant must allow REASONABLE time for the LL to make repairs. Too vague for court with argumentative evictees.

My lease is clear: res agrees to allow 30 days for no -emergency repairs.

Management does not provide alternative housing during any repair period. Res understands and agrees repairs may take longer than expected due to scheduling, availability of tradesmen or parts, weather, etc. Every person whether renting or owning their home must be patient and is inconvenienced during repairs.

And...

We keep a supply of window ac. small elec heaters, and refrigerators in stock to cover emergencies.

Another: HVAC and Sewer Guy get a NICE gift at Christmas!

Phone: we get FEWER upset callers since we stopped answering the phone. No one to yell at on the answering machine.

If they are going to call the city nothing, not even answering the phone will stop them.

Our return call is usually “Here is the number to call to set an appt with the repairman. I told him your situation and he is expecting your call.”

And all service requests must be submitted in writing. Easiest is the form on our we site where they can set the appointment.

First thing I see is she is telling you the A/C went out 2 days ago. That's on her for not telling you then. I would remind her of that. Next thing is I would tell her mother that she is not on the lease and I can not talk with her in regard to the tenant. Next I would go over there and see if it is something simple that I might be able to fix like check the filter,breaker,fuse in unit,ect.. If I could not find anything then I would put in a couple of window units until my tech could get there to make repairs. Next I would get her stupid behind out.

I just read the other post and realize you already have the problem fixed.

Like others said, give that man a gift at Christmas.

6 absolutely not. I rent out houses- not throw people out for being difficult. My tenants don't know what to make of me cause I'm different. I run my business not them. I've had several like Roy has explained. Beginning of the summer one of my tenants busted my chops for several weeks about the AC being old. She was turning off the unit for 9 hrs a day while at work. Well we all know what happen-- it got to 90 inside by 6PM and she wanted it to cool off in 1 hour-- after laughing in her face her boyfriend came out and said I only talked to her that way because she was a women. I explained first off your not on the lease second she's acting like an idiot-- I can't fix that. Since then (2 months ) not a word more form her.

I am a licensed contractor and long time landlord of over 100 rentals (units). I have a rule, the clock doesn't start when the air conditioning breaks! It starts the time I'm given proper notification!

An example. A couple renting a home decided to upgrade their thermostat with a 7 day digital programmable model. All done without my permission. The power went off one day for 5 minutes. Their new thermostat back up battery died. They called in a panic and complained the system stopped working.

I drove over there on a Sunday early morning. Got there less than 1 hour after receiving the call. When I saw the new thermostat and found the "system failure" code for a dead battery, I let the tenants know that:

a) this new thermostat was installed without my permission.

b) I don't have the manual on re-programming. That's their responsibility. Since they misplaced the manual, they would have to down-load a copy from the internet. I don't carry in my back pocket a lap top and printer.

c) They would also have to drive to the local drug store/hardware store and buy themselves a new battery, I don't triple A batteries in my shirt pocket either.

d) Air conditioning here in California is a luxury and not a necessary on a sort term basis. No discounted rent.

Also the tenant knew the battery was dead because on the display is has a Replace Battery Symbol. If they close to run the system with a dead battery, then any power outage, even for a few seconds, would loose their programming.

Glad that you got that resolved, Roy(AL). I won't come down on you about your honesty concerning what you nearly said. We all think things when we are angry that we come close to saying.

My hubby had problems early in his teaching career with students and parents who acted exactly like what you are describing with tenant and her mom. He more than once got into arguments that didn't accomplish anything. An older, totally unflappable teacher taught him some excellent lessons by example:

- Be the calm and professional one.

- Insist on proper communication channels (school's were spelled out in parent/student handbook; yours can be in lease).

- Let phone calls go to voicemail. It gives you time to think before you reply.

- When you do call, be a little vague about when something is to be done. In your case, saying something like "Hmm. I wish that you'd told me as soon as you realized that there was a problem. But I will see what I can do about getting a technician out, and touch base (tomorrow/tonight/whatever) with my progress."

-I agree with everyone who advocates keeping an a/c unit on hand. You could then add to the call back - "I can bring over a window a/c unit. Think about where you want it. Tell me if (name time) is convenient." Once they respond with a time, quickly end the call with a "I'm on it. See you then. Goodbye." and hang up - then let their calls go to Voicemail again.

I see this forum as a way to encourage each other and pass on what we've learned. I've benefited so much from other LL's advice on how to handle difficult people, and I'm just passing on the above out of a desire to do the same.

Maturity = is the ability to respond to the environment

being aware of the correct time and location

to behave and knowing when to act

according to the circumstances and the culture

of the society one lives in.

Oregon,

If I do anything now, it would appear to be retaliatory. Her 1 year lease expires on August 31st, so I need to wait until late July before I mail her the 30 day Non-renewal notice. I will just tell her I plan to sell the house and she is welcome to buy it. If not, start packing those suitcases and go find another LL to tell your nickel and dime problems to.

I am offended that you were so rattled by her unreasonable demands that you showed your true colors! Only black people make unreasonable demands? You say you have C properties. One would think you would have thicker skin. These people are making a good life for you! If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. It didn't take much to show your true colors. What should I say to my white tenant who is just as belligerent about her demands? I have read your prior post and am just appalled. Let's see what Jeffrey has to say about this. One LL wrote that many think what you said. I can't give a pass. It's an irate tenant complaining about having no air. Normal landlord stuff that got you so far off your game that you resort to name calling. I wonder what you are capable of in more dire situations. All I can say is WOW!!! For the records, I am black!

AL (NC)

"Let's see what Jeffrey has to say about this"

At this writing, I really wish I had a tape recording of the 2 phone conversations I had with this tenant and her Mother. I would then gladly offer to play these tapes at a round-table discussion at a Mr. LL convention. If you could hear the full 'back and forth' conversations that I had, I would then hope that you would conclude that I am not a white racist bigot,...actually just the opposite.

You may find this hard to believe, but I consider myself to be one of the best and most professional Landlords my town has to offer. (It is my competitor LL's who you would be appalled at,..not me.)

Jasper said, "Some of the wording in your original question should have been kept to yourself and not put on a public forum."

Jasper, in hindsight, I totally agree with you. What I would like everyone here to do is go back and re-read my original post. Instead of my using the N-Word,...if I had used the F-Word instead,...I am willing to bet no one here would have blinked an eye or made the false assumption that I may be a bigot. Would anyone agree with me here?

WMH,

Well, this post has migrated from reasonability of repairs to using words.

Roy, I get your point about the use of denigrating words. And to some extent, I agree with you it SHOULD be thought of as equal.

But the FACT is, it is not. Legally, you can get in trouble as a land lord if someone can prove you are being discriminatory. The N-word WILL get you in trouble for that. The F-bomb WILL NOT.

Period. End of story. Welcome to the world we live in.

An aside: I've been called all sorts of names and epithets:

"slum lord"

"F%T#$ing slumlord"

"h*nkey""

"cracker"

"mansplainer" etc.

I have a thick skin and it rolls right off. Were I of a different skin color, gender, or socio-economic status, I'd probably have social justice warriors paying the attorney fees to sue my detractors into oblivion. But that's not how I chose to operate.

Roy you can call it what you want. YOUR wrong by a consensus of 100% here. Take your medicine and admit -- OK maybe not admit your wrong-- but cross that word off your list and from your brain. Some words just stand alone as offensive.

I created this post and now I am trying to end it. Will I get the last word here? Probably not.

The thing that amazes me about some of the responses here concerning the N-word is just 'my mentioning' of the N-word here has sent shock waves through out this forum. And I think these shock waves would measure about 7.2 on the Richter scale too. I still do not understand why this happened,...it was not my intention. In the future, I will need to be more careful about telling you all what was on my mind 'in the heat of the moment'.

Roy by all means have the last word. First though keep digging that hole.

Roy maybe as LL's we are trying to live down the stigma associated with our business and that word. It HAD a fixed place in the world of LL's. We're all here trying to change that-- I include you in that. Heat of the moment or not you "felt it coming out of your mouth".

Me, I'm a yankee and not much bothers me. If I was from the south and someone called me "cracker" maybe that would bother me. North or South, yankee or rebel, even redneck, doesn't hold a candle to the word mentioned.

And you got the attention you were looking for.

Here is my response to a no A/C call: "Oh wow, sorry this is happening! I'll call and get you on his list! I'm sure he's swamped right now but I will let you know when he'll be over." And I offer 1 window unit. That's it. Done. No back and forth. I am doing what I can do.

Last time this happened they "noticed it was going out" Wed night but waited until (not kidding) 4:30 on Friday to let me know. This house has zoned A/C / Heat but she "refuses to use the upstairs as it costs too much." Fine. Be hot then. She stayed at her mothers'. Can't fix stupid.

Blue,

I can't fix stupid either. She waited 2 days to report her a/c problem and all I could do at 4:30p.m. Friday was to say I will 'call the man' and see what his weekend schedule is. However, 'it could be Monday though'. This is when our 'nice and cordial phone conversation' went south quickly. She demanded that I put her and her family in a motel room until repairs could be made. I offered to bring a fan or window unit over but that just pissed her off even more. She said, "I just paid my $700.00 rent to you and I expect alot more than just some window unit. Do you expect me and my family to sit there in front of window unit all night long?