My AC unit is from 2011 and while it works “ok” it takes a while for cool air to come out during summer. I’ve called about this before but since it still isn’t technically broken they refuse to replace it. It is almost time for me to either move or recontract at my current apartment so I am trying to get the owner to replace it. I am still getting the usual answers “its not broken”, “just try cleaning it”.
Does anyone know of a simple way to break/disable an AC unit so it will force them to give me a new one? Apologies if this sounds petty but I think its unfair that to recontract in a place requires another months rent.
7 comments
Are you sure you’re right? Have you cleaned both the internal and external units?　You could request that your landlord hire an actual aircon cleaning service to clean it properly(They’ll do a much better job than just spraying air in).
Breaking the unit intentionally to get a replacement would be a criminal act. It is not your unit. Do NOT try to do that. It’s not petty, it’s vandalism. If you’re unhappy with your landlord, don’t renew and use the renewal money at a new place.
It sounds like it may need to have the refrigerant checked/recharged. If that’s the case, just cleaning it won’t do anything.
How long is this “it takes a while” period?
It’s normal for an AC unit to take a while to blow hot / cold air. Should take about 2 minutes until it compressed enough gas to start producing a noticable temperature difference.
Offer to pay half the replacement and see if they change their mind. if you move, you might pay even more.
Can you find out from a serial number or model how old it is? Also, do you have year over year bills you can show? If the AC is not efficient you should see a significant jump in your bills.
Pro AC cleaning isn’t super cheap and personally I don’t think you should have to pay for it. If it is a really old unit, I also tend to doubt that’s even worthwhile. I could be wrong, but AC didn’t do anything for us except incur an expense. We ended up replacing our ACs a few months later.
Meanwhile on another thread “Why won’t landlords rent to foreigners?”