TULSA, Okla. — The hot weather is here to stay, but what can you do if your air conditioner is broken?
That is the situation for several people at local apartment complexes, including an 80-year-old man who says he’s been without cool air for days.
Residents at Old South Apartments reached out because they said they have not had air conditioning for several days. 2 News Oklahoma checked with management and talked to experts about what you can do if you're waiting on repairs.
“Our A/C isn’t working, it hasn’t been working for I think four days now,” resident Holly Sherwin said.
This is the reality hundreds of people at Old South Apartments said they've been dealing with. Some residents asked to remain anonymous out of fear of being evicted for voicing their concerns.
“If you’re paying rent here as a resident, it’s not okay to have to live in heat. It’s not okay," she said. "It’s just not.”
This resident believes it's not only a tenant's right but also a health and safety concern.
“We reached what…111 index this weekend. I started having seizures back-to-back,” she said.
They said the sweltering heat is making living conditions unbearable.
“If you go over the rest of the apartment to do anything, I mean, it’s absolutely miserable…you can hardly breathe," Sherwin said.
Another resident said management always has an answer, but never the one residents want to hear.
“We’re working on it, they’re going to have it fixed by this date, or oops they couldn’t get it fixed…we’re waiting on a part,” another resident who also asked to remain anonymous said.
2 News Oklahoma reached out to management.
They directed us to their corporate office in Houston who told us, "We are doing the best we can and as quickly as we can. We are currently working with two A/C companies for the fastest solution."
A solution residents said is not coming fast enough.
“Something needs to be done for the safety of all the residents.”
We asked the Tulsa Apartment Association what tenants can do if they have no air conditioning and management simply says they're working on it. They said management should provide temporary solutions such as a fan or window unit, offer to move residents to a property that does have air conditioning, or in an extreme situation, offer to place residents in a hotel until the air conditioning is repaired.
Residents said since 2 News Oklahoma interviewed them, management has left them a note saying they will install window units tomorrow until repairs are made. If a landlord isn't providing these solutions, we encourage you to call 2-1-1 for other resources.
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