who should pay for the hotel

**JLK** · 07-30-07, 12:20 AM

the a/c went out in the house i'm renting. can't get the replacement part until tomorrow. it is 80-85 degrees in the house and I have two small children 5yoa and 5 months. should the landlord foot the hotel bill or should I have to pay for it.

**Davia** · 07-30-07, 12:26 AM

Wow, thats a good question.. To my knowledge there is no law, or rule that makes a swamp cooler something that a home has to have to make it habitable, so I think it would be your responsibility to pay for the hotel, but I would talk to your landlord and see if maybe they will split the cost with you...

**bird1** · 07-30-07, 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by Davia

talk to your landlord and see if maybe they will split the cost with you...

I'll go that route

**BEB** · 07-30-07, 12:37 AM

Check your rental agreement to be sure, but 80-85 degrees is habitable. As long as he's trying to fix the unit in a reasonable amount of time he's not denying you service you agreed to. Stuff breaks

Asking him to split never hurts

**Just KC** · 07-30-07, 12:38 AM

Yeah, what BEB says. Of course do what is best for your family

**k-9max** · 07-30-07, 12:38 AM

i voted renter,
now here is why i say this.

i have rentals, and if everytime someting happened that the renter thought was ok to stay at the hotel, i would be broke.

i have before told a tenant that if he wanted to fix something to do it, and give me the bill, i would reimburse him, or deduct from rent.

there isnt any 24 hour service available where your at??????
the landlord should be looking for someone else to fix it, if the part isnt available with that particular company.

Maybe stay with relaitves until its fixed,

**JLK** · 07-30-07, 12:47 AM

I don't care who pays. it's an older unit and and arter checking around nobody carries this part on their trucks, have to get it from the warehouse.

**lewisipso** · 07-30-07, 12:51 AM

An opinion, not a fact or law, but I vote for the landlord.

**Willowdared** · 07-30-07, 12:58 AM

I don't have air conditioning.

If it's unbearable, and you need to get out, I'd say the hotel room is on you, as it's more what you don't like, as opposed to what's not tolerable.

Take a cool bath to bring your body temps down. Also, using cool cloths on your pulse points...wrists, back of the neck and ankles is very effective.

**Michelle** · 07-30-07, 02:07 AM

Gosh, sorry you and your kids have to suffer the heat.
I know how miserable that can be.

I've been told some time ago that air coolers are a luxury and landlords aren't obligated to furnish them to tenants - unless noted in contract.

Our swamp cooler went out at our last rental and we bought a fan that you can put water in. We put cold water in it, stuck it in the window and it worked good enough till we were able to get the broken cooler fixed.

**mack** · 07-30-07, 02:36 AM

Unfortunately things break. Why not go out and buy a fan. I think that would be cheaper than a hotel and for a night or two would work. 80-85 degrees? Is that hot?? I think that is balmy weather. I would kill for 80-85 degree weather right now.

**Trojan 42** · 07-30-07, 04:29 AM

Originally Posted by mack

I would kill for 80-85 degree weather right now.

So would I. I dream of it being that warm.

**mack** · 07-30-07, 05:01 AM

And I wish it was that cool, lol

**Ianl6** · 07-30-07, 10:11 AM

I voted the renter should pay for the hotel the reason being.As long as your landlord is trying to get the unit fixed in a reasonable time limit he is sticking to the terms of tenancy.He cannot be held responsible for the part not being held in stock as how would he know he would be needing it.Some of the others have suggested you buy a fan surely buying even a couple of fans would be cheaper than having to pay a hotel bill.
Have you asked your landlord if he could supply you with a few fans to help cool things down until the unit can be repaired properly.

**KaiGywer** · 07-30-07, 11:02 AM

I also voted renter. AC is a luxury item (and god knows I use that luxury), but it's not a necessity. Had your furnace gone out in the middle of winter with -40 outside, it would have been a different story and the landlord better get you into a different unit or a hotel.

**JLK** · 07-30-07, 11:23 AM

I wish it was 80-85 here to but I was talking about inside the house. that's with all the ceiling fans and a couple of other fans to boot. it's a bit warmer outside with high humidity. when I get home I just about have to ring my vest out. wife decided to stick it out in the house. my landlord was at the warehouse when they opened and is already working on it. it will probably be fixed when we get home from the zoo. my wife and I grew up in s.c. so heat and humidity are no strangers. just for the record I thought that paying for a room should be my responsibility.

**Ianl6** · 07-30-07, 11:33 AM

I hope for the sake of your wife and children that your landlord gets it repaired as soon as possible as like you say family is everything so good luck.

**Big Al** · 07-30-07, 12:08 PM

I voted renter..

Buy some fans,

**Willowdared** · 07-30-07, 02:54 PM

Do you have a house?

I picked up one of those "inflatble" pools at Target for about $50, and when it heads to higher temps I set it up. It's great to just sit in and relax, while cooling you down. My son can spend hours just playing (he's 11) You only inflate the top ring, and it has a hose hook-up for draining, so you don't flood the yard when you take it down.

I have the one on top, but I don't hook up the filter, just plug the holes where it goes in with the plugs included.

http://www.intexcorp.com/easyset.htm

**Jks9199** · 07-30-07, 05:44 PM

Renter pays...

If it goes on with the landlord refusing to fix it in a timely manner, go after him for the costs. Otherwise, crap happens. If you owned the house -- would you suck it up or go to a hotel?

Heater's a different question; that's an issue of habitability.