TULSA, Okla — Brandi Maynard is a renter.
When it comes to getting her landlord to fix things, she is not always sure how to make the request.
"There's a lot of us around here who don't know what to do," she said. "Don't know our rights as a tenant."
If the property you rent has air conditioning that breaks down, the landlord is responsible for making repairs or replacing units that no longer work.
"In June, my A/C quit working," Maynard said.
The Problem Solvers checked with 2 News Meteorologist Brandon Wholey to see how many days between June 6 and Aug. 6 were in the 90s or topped 100°
- 42 days with highs between 90° and 99°
- 6 days with highs of 100° or above
Maynard reached out by text to her landlord several times about the broken A/C. She told the Problem Solvers repairmen were sent out twice.
"Both of these maintenance people that came out for the A/C unit told me that they're puttin' in a request for a new A/C unit," she said.
So far, only a small window unit has been dropped off at Maynard's house.
"A window unit that covers about 150 to 200 square feet in the house," she said.
She and her five children stay in the front room with it as much as possible and are using fans to move air into other rooms of the house.
"It stays over 80° even at nighttime," she said, "and I've got five kids."
Oklahoma's Bar Association provides information on renters' rights and duties.
Eric Hallett with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma recommends renters become familiar with how to request maintenance remedies under Oklahoma's Landlord Tenant Act.
It requires renters to put maintenance requests in writing, and by writing, he means on paper.
Text messages, emails, or even the portal your leasing company provides may cover all your bases if you have to sue your landlord.
"The law is not keeping up with technology, and right now, our legislature has not addressed the issue of email and text messaging," Hallett said. "So, to be on the safe side, you need to put it on paper the old-fashioned way and hand deliver it to your landlord or certified mail it. Anything else, there is a chance it won't count."
If property managers or landlords fail to fix things like air conditioning, and you put your maintenance request in writing, you have the option to break your lease and owe no more rent.
"That's not a real good option for most people," Hallett said. "You have another option to stay with a friend or relative while the problem is being addressed by the landlord. If you stay somewhere temporarily you get to deduct the rent for those days going forward in your next month."
Hallett cautions it is critically important to document:
- your maintenance issue
- efforts to get the landlord to fix it
- if you had to stay elsewhere
So if a landlord claims you didn't pay rent and you end up in court, you can show the judge why you had to stay somewhere else.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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