LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As the Las Vegas Valley reaches record triple-digit temperatures, several residents reached out to Channel 13 to report their air conditioning was broken and they couldn't get anyone to help.
Francisca Garcia is among the residents struggling to get their AC repaired.
Garcia has lived in her home for more than five years and says she's never experienced a summer like this one. Her air conditioner — and landlord — haven’t brought relief.
But the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada stepped in, helping her combat a poorly functioning air conditioning unit and a landlord who hasn’t remedied the problem.
Nicholas Haley is a consumer rights attorney at the Legal Aid Center.
He says if you're renting, have ac issues, and your landlord hasn't stepped in to help — you have rights.
In Nevada, revised statutes consider air conditioning an essential service, Haley explained.
He says if you’re in this situation, you need to notify the landlord immediately. It's also important to start a paper trail documenting your plight.
By law, landlords have 48 hours to respond before a resident can take the next steps. Those steps can include buying or fixing an air conditioning unit yourself or making other arrangements, like a hotel or motel, that can later be credited toward your rent.
Haley says you can also take legal action and file for expedited relief, but this process has to be done within the first five days of the issue presenting itself.
Lastly, you can withhold rent until the issue gets resolved. But this option requires you deposit your monthly rent to the court until the case is resolved.
Haley says to contact Legal Aid if you have any questions about these issues but to follow the procedures to help you in the long run.
EXTREME HEAT: Southern Nevada heat warning extended through Saturday
