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Unit is leaking water out of the blower onto the floor. Management says it’s the renters responsibility to get it serviced.
The unit is still functional in the sense that it makes cold air. It’s just the leaking water that is the concern.
19 comments
Is the a/c actually included in the rental agreement?
Check the lease, but it might be on you for minor issues like this.
As a practical matter, if you want to argue about it and maybe possibly get them to fix it, it will be on their timeline and take days to possibly weeks. Do you want to wait?
I had this same problem. The management company just came in and completely replaced the whole thing. However the company I rented from was fucking massive and one aircon unit is probably nothing to them and just policy to do when it starts leaking.
tldr Check your contract
Mine broke a few weeks ago very similar to yours was leaking water all over the place. And I thought I was about to die from the heat.
In my case the management changed the entire thing, not sure but maybe you could try contacting the ones that are renting it out. Best of luck to you.
Okay go outside, look at the wall where the AC is attached. There should be 2 pipes going to the fan unit and a plastic “tube”. The tube takes the condensed moisture from the air and let’s it drain outside. That tube is clogged. I think they sell little plastic sucker things to suck the clog out or you can try a metal wire or something.
The other place that can get clogged is there’s a little drip tray under the AC coils. There’s a hole in the tray that sometimes get flaked corrosion or moss clogging it if the hose cleaning doesn’t fix the problem.
This is basic maintenance folks…
Sometime back (perhaps a year, or two ago?), my aircon started leaking too. Property management sent someone to fix/service it, but the problem persisted. The second time around, they replaced the entire unit. It did take some time however, due to the pandemic, maybe about 3 weeks from initial issue to replacement.
(I was able to keep the air conditioner running, by using some vinyl bags, and tubing to redirect the water into a bucket, and emptying it every day…)
Condensation is normal in a Japanese air conditioner. That is why newer units do not turn off immediately when you hit the off button. They keep running for a while as a fan to dry out the condensation. If you are not familiar with how the machines work you might be in the habit of hitting the off button twice to force a shutdown.
A Japanese resident knows you are supposed to turn off the unit every so often and open the windows now and then to prevent the condensation from becoming mold. Foreign residents often run the air conditioner 24 hours a day in the summer and don’t give it a break. This is not correct maintenance.
What to do when the leak gets serious.
You can sometimes open the bottom of a the AC and insert a rag to soak up the water, then remove the rag. OR if your AC unit is an older type there will be a hose going outside to drain the water. That eventually gets clogged with dust. Find your craziest friend and ask them to give the hose a strong blow to dislodge any gunk.
The company which I rent (pitat house) replaced 2 units since i moved
Definitely depends on your contract.
Our current place came with 2 air conditioners but both are pretty old. The owner left them here for us to use but told us if they needed replaced/maintenance it was on us.
I heard a while back that it depends on if the Aircon unit is actually the rental company’s that they put in the apartment, or if it’s just one that was left behind by the previous tenant. Not 100% sure if that’s true though. Might wanna check your contract either way.
Ours broke and the landlord sent someone to replace it for us the next day.
It depends on what is written in your contract. A friend of mine is renting a place that has an AC unit but the relator stressed that the previous tenant purchased it and isn’t part of the place itself. She went on to say should something happen to it it’ll be my friend’s responsibility to replace it.
Check the contract. They are probably telling the truth. The AC was left by the previous tenant. Feel free to take it with you when you move out.
Its leaking because the little drainage hose is either clogged or, more likely, facing upward somewhere on the line outside. Maybe it got kicked or moved.
Unlike other countries A/C units/appliances in japan aren’t typically considered fixtures of the apt. E.g. for temporary apt rentals (where a company rents to a temporary employee or something) the furniture, kitchenware, and A/C units are all rentable from separate rental companies.
So it’s not uncommon for Japanese renters to buy and schlepp their a/c, fridge, and washer/dryer around with them every time they move.
Obviously leaking water is unusual, but it depends on the cause as to who is responsible. If you neglect basic maintenance, such as cleaning the filter, the repair cost will be your responsibility. Otherwise, if the malfunction occurs during use, it is often the landlord’s responsibility. Unfortunately, there are many rental management companies that say halfhearted things due to language handicaps for foreigners, so I think it is better to check the contract properly and then consult with the local government (city hall, etc.) or the consumer center.　(translate jpn-eng DeepL)
Depends on your contract for sure. Our rental company asked us to check if it was working properly before summer incase it needed any repairs, but they will *not* pay for cleaning, we have to do that ourselves.
In Japan on wall installed Air Cons, there is a tube, usually on the outside of the building, that water is supposed to flow out of.
If you block the tube or so much as turn up the end of it, it will keep water from leaving and you will have this problem. someone may have done something to this drainage tube to block it, which is why water is coming out of your air con.
There are other issues that can cause this problem of course, but this is the first thing you should check.
In all of the places I have lived since 2012 air conditioning maintenance has been the responsibility of the owner/management company. That said, it all depends what is in the contract you signed. I know it is certainly normal for the owner or mgmt company to handle it but your contract might have some shady shit in it.
I never heard that the renter has to fix the equipments of the apartment. In any case it should be clearly stated on your contract what the owner/management company are responsible to fix.