Does CA have a law as in to how hot an apartment can be maximum? (house, tenants)

[heartfocus]

When I said "the law" I meant the hability requirements. Surely that must be part of California law!

The problem is that the landlords have installed inefficient, old, wall air conditioners. This has happened to several places I have lived. Of course he will keep that functional, but it doesn't reach into the bedroom and therefore the bedroom is hot, even with fans. Also, the apartments are at least 10 degrees warmer than outside in the summer due to lack of insulation. The landlords will not address these inefficient air conditioners that barely do anything.

I have an autoimmune disorder which makes me extremely heat intolerant. I would never be able to live in a place with no air conditioning! You act like its such a luxury to have, when for me, its absolutely medically necessary.

Oh, and I CANNOT move. Due to lack of funds. I'm on disability, SSDI. Under $8,000 a year.

I don't care if heat is required....I never use the heat.

You must be a landlord.

[Teckeeee]

I won't look good, but you can try radiant barrier. It's used in TX and AZ in attics. It works and you can buy it off the net Attic Foil Radiant Barrier - AtticFoil® Do-It-Yourself Radiant Barrier Foil Insulation

[nightlysparrow]

The poster Ultrarunner was absolutely correct.

"Rental houses and apartments in California must comply with habitability requirements as described in California Civil Code 1941. A cooling unit isn’t listed as a requirement of habitability."
Do Landlords Have to Supply Air Conditioning? | Home Guides | SF Gate

Furthermore, the landlord can always remove the one you have and not replace it. Amending: By this I mean, foot-dragging, long repair time, etc. if you complain. And I am not a landlord.

If you have loads of time, check the codes yourself:
CA Codes (civ:1940-1954.1)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by jackie100

Is there anything in the rental regulations/code that states the "hottest" an apartment can be in terms of degrees?

I have never heard of anyplace that has such a law. It couldn't really be enforced. Older building most likely will not have central or even window a/c but today's fans work wonders and are not very costly.

[thecooler]

Originally Posted by jackie100

Thank you for your response. I guess it's normal for an apartment to get this hot during summer; I thought it was just me.

I have a problem with the bedroom too, the sun always rises and shines right into my bedroom and it gets super bright and hot in there in the mornings; the blinds are useless. I have resorted to sleeping the livingroom most of the time.

I think my thermometer hit a standstill at 83.8...

I can't believe an apt in half moon bay gets that hot! You need to try some tricks to keep and get/keep the heat out. First I would buy and install some blackout curtains in the bedroom, and for any windows that get lots of sun (you're right, blinds are worthless), when you move you just need to take them down and fill in the holes in the wall. Buy a tall standup fan and when its starts cooling off outside, open your windows and put the fan up the windows to pull in the cooler air. If its still hot when you go to bed you have the fan to blow on you all night. Sounds like you'll have to deal with some noise but that at least to me would be preferable to the heat.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by heartfocus

When I said "the law" I meant the hability requirements. Surely that must be part of California law!

The problem is that the landlords have installed inefficient, old, wall air conditioners. This has happened to several places I have lived. Of course he will keep that functional, but it doesn't reach into the bedroom and therefore the bedroom is hot, even with fans. Also, the apartments are at least 10 degrees warmer than outside in the summer due to lack of insulation. The landlords will not address these inefficient air conditioners that barely do anything.

I have an autoimmune disorder which makes me extremely heat intolerant. I would never be able to live in a place with no air conditioning! You act like its such a luxury to have, when for me, its absolutely medically necessary.

Oh, and I CANNOT move. Due to lack of funds. I'm on disability, SSDI. Under $8,000 a year.

I don't care if heat is required....I never use the heat.

You must be a landlord.

Yes I am... bought my first home right out of school in East Oakland... 700 square feet of 1920's bungalow scheduled for condemnation on a 25 x 100 lot .

Moved in and made repairs over the course of a year and when I was done... found another project and rented my little cottage... that was over 30 years ago and I still own it and I have had only two renters including the current one.

Sometimes tenants forget they are the customer.

In my city we also have rent control plus tenant review boards and a special business license is required to be a residential landlord.

I have never lived in a home with A/C and I am California born... no one in my family has ever lived with A/C until my brother married and his wife insisted.

A/C is an amenity... in that it is not a requirement.

In reading your post... you mention you have A/C... so it is not a question of not having one?

There is a law that requires Landlords to allow tenants to make reasonable modifications for medical necessity. Maybe your Landlord is not aware that he/she must allow you to make these changes with the provision you remove them when you're no longer living there?

If your Doctor is willing... you could provide your landlord with a letter as to your medical necessity as sometimes there are grants for this work... you might try the utility, salvation army or maybe a local church group... Some Utilities offer efficiency upgrade programs that include HVAC.

For those without family or of modest means, Oakland has a program called Christmas in April that provides services for low income elderly/disabled and I've helped with repairing roofs and furnaces.

My neighbor's wife was bedridden and dying from cancer... I went with him and bought a small window unit for $200 at Home Depot... she was comfortable on the hottest days of the summer and next to nothing in cost.

[heartfocus]

Originally Posted by Teckeeee

I won't look good, but you can try radiant barrier. It's used in TX and AZ in attics. It works and you can buy it off the net Attic Foil Radiant Barrier - AtticFoil® Do-It-Yourself Radiant Barrier Foil Insulation

Thanks but I live in an apartment and my manager would never allow something like that.

[heartfocus]

None of that applies to me.
My landlord will not even let PG&E Energy Partners do an energy audit because he has things to hide. He has lied about the age of the refrigerator, for instance.

[Harrier]

No - there is no law regulating the sun.

[Ceece]

My AC broke before the last heat wave and the house got up to 95 inside. I was not a happy camper, but it is what it is, and heat waves like that don't happen often. My neighbor had the same problem at the same time. Both of our houses have large windows/sliders that face west and the sun just beats in all day long, they were not designed with severe weather in mind so it's up to us to come up with tricks and solutions. I'll be installing an exterior shade that I will use during the hottest days going forward, and I got a new AC installed. I'm a homeowner though so the cost is all on me.

The fact that your unit isn't new, well insulated, energy efficient, or air conditioned is probably why you can afford it. If it's an ongoing problem it's on you to get the heck out of dodge and live somewhere you can handle. Or report your LL for whatever violations you think he's hiding and see what happens. I suspect you won't end up happy no matter what though. Comfort is relative, and many people live without AC. I'm sorry for your situation.