Do landlords have to provide air conditioning?
In most of the country, no law makes you install air conditioning, but once you provide it, you must keep it working. A growing number of places go further: Phoenix sets a maximum indoor temperature for units with cooling, Maryland now requires air conditioning in some units of buildings with 10 or more apartments, and Oregon requires cooling in new buildings. Check your state and city, because the rule where your building sits is what counts.
The general rule: maintain what you supply
Most state landlord laws do not list air conditioning as something every unit must have. They do require you to keep in working order the systems you supply. Arizona's version is typical. A.R.S. 33-1324 requires a landlord to maintain in good and safe working order all heating, ventilating and air-conditioning facilities "supplied or required to be supplied," and to supply "reasonable air-conditioning or cooling where such units are installed and offered, when required by seasonal weather conditions."
That makes a working air conditioner part of what you rented. If it fails and you do not fix it, the tenant gets remedies. Under A.R.S. 33-1364, after reasonable notice a tenant whose cooling is deliberately or negligently not supplied may recover damages for the lower rental value, or get substitute housing and be excused from rent for that period, with up to 25 percent of the excused rent added on for the extra cost.
Four places with specific cooling rules
| Place | Who it covers | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona (statewide) | Units where cooling is installed and offered | Keep it working and supply reasonable cooling when the weather calls for it (A.R.S. 33-1324) |
| Phoenix, Arizona | Every rental unit where cooling is installed | Cool all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms to no more than 82 degrees with air conditioning, or 86 degrees with evaporative cooling, measured 3 feet above the floor in the center of the room (City Code 39-5) |
| Maryland (statewide) | Apartment buildings with 10 or more units, starting with new units, units where the landlord provided air conditioning on or after January 1, 2025, and from October 1, 2026, units renovated with new or substantially upgraded electrical or heating systems | From June 1 to September 30, keep each habitable space at no more than 80 degrees at 3 feet above the floor (landlord-controlled systems), or keep tenant-controlled systems able to do so (Real Property 8-122) |
| Oregon (statewide) | Units in buildings permitted on or after April 1, 2024 | Adequate cooling in at least one room other than a bathroom, which can be central air, a heat pump or a portable air conditioner (ORS 90.320) |
Sources: A.R.S. 33-1324; City of Phoenix cooling ordinance flyer quoting City Code 39-5; Maryland SB 12 of 2026, Chapter 664 and its enrolled text; ORS chapter 90.
Maryland's law says it overrides any local law with inconsistent air-conditioning rules, and it applies only going forward: building work permitted before June 1, 2026 is not pulled in. It also exempts units on the National Register of Historic Places and certain Baltimore City public housing.
Oregon adds a second rule in ORS 90.355: you may not stop a tenant from installing a portable air conditioner or evaporative cooler, with exceptions such as a device that would break building codes, damage the premises or overload the electrical system. Any restrictions you do impose must be in writing and given to the tenant.
When an air conditioner fails in summer
Treat a cooling failure in hot weather like a loss of heat in winter. Arizona's Attorney General warned landlords in May 2025 that, once written notice is given and the heat makes it a health and safety risk, the landlord has up to five days to fix it, and possibly less where the indoor temperature exceeds a city's limit. The same notice reminds landlords that cutting off cooling to pressure a tenant who is behind on rent is not allowed, and that tenants whose disability is made worse by heat may need a reasonable accommodation.
- Log the call the moment it comes in, with the time, unit and indoor temperature if the tenant can read it.
- Get a technician out the same day or the next. If parts take longer, say so in writing.
- Bridge the gap: a portable unit, a fan plus a cooled common room, or a hotel night for a vulnerable household. Keep the receipts.
- Measure after the fix. Where a city sets a maximum, take the reading the way the code says (Phoenix and Maryland both use 3 feet above the floor).
- Close the work order with the cause, the cost and the date, so a repeat failure shows up as a pattern.
Example a made-up 24 unit building in Phoenix has central air. On a 110 degree day, unit 7 reads 85 degrees in the bedroom with the system running. That is over the 82 degree limit for air conditioning, so the unit is out of compliance even though the system is "working." The technician finds a failing capacitor, a $180 repair, and the room reads 78 degrees two hours later.
What to budget for
If you own in a place with a cooling standard, plan for it the way you plan for boilers. Write down which units have cooling, what kind, and its age. Service condensers and evaporative coolers before the first hot week. Keep one or two spare portable units for failures. In Maryland, a renovation that replaces the electrical or heating system in a 10 plus unit building from October 1, 2026 brings that unit under the cooling rule, so price the cooling into the scope before you pull the permit.
Example a made-up owner in Maryland has a 12 unit building where the landlord supplied window units in 2025. Those units are covered from June 1, 2026. Three units are over 15 years old and cannot hold 80 degrees in the west-facing bedrooms. Replacing them at a made-up $450 each is $1,350, less than one month of rent on any one of those units at $1,500.
Tracking cooling calls in DoorKeeping
In DoorKeeping, a "no AC" call becomes a work order on the unit, and you can send it to your HVAC vendor by link. Ask Claude or ChatGPT which units had cooling work orders last summer and what they cost, and the repair bills land coded in that property's books. Any payment still waits for your one-tap approval.
Sources
- Arizona Revised Statutes 33-1324, landlord to maintain fit premises, read Oct 30, 2026
- Arizona Revised Statutes 33-1364, wrongful failure to supply heat, air conditioning, cooling, read Oct 30, 2026
- Arizona Attorney General, warning to landlords on air conditioning, May 27, 2025, read Oct 30, 2026
- City of Phoenix, cooling ordinance (City Code 39-5) flyer, read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland General Assembly, SB 12 (2026), Residential Rental Apartments: Air-Conditioning Requirement, read Oct 30, 2026
- Maryland SB 12 (2026), enrolled bill text, Real Property 8-122, read Oct 30, 2026
- Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 90 (90.320 and 90.355), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Is air conditioning required in rental units?
- Usually not by state law, but if you provide it you must keep it working. Some places set more: Phoenix caps indoor temperatures where cooling is installed, Maryland requires air conditioning in some units of 10 plus unit buildings, and Oregon requires cooling in new buildings.
- What temperature must a landlord keep an apartment in summer?
- Only some places set a number. Phoenix uses 82 degrees for air conditioning and 86 for evaporative cooling, and Maryland uses 80 degrees from June 1 to September 30 for covered units.
- Can a tenant install their own window air conditioner?
- In Oregon, a landlord generally cannot forbid a portable cooling device, with exceptions for codes, safety, damage or electrical limits. Elsewhere, your lease and local rules decide.