(The Center Square) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Scottsdale property management company, demanding that it immediately fix tenants’ air conditioning during the current heat wave.
The letter follows concerns that Urban League Manor, a Phoenix senior citizen living facility, was without air conditioning for “at least five days.”
Mayes sent the letter Tuesday to Celtic Property Management, which operates ULM.
According to the attorney general’s letter, some of ULM’s apartments reached almost 100 degrees. Phoenix is under an extreme heat warning by the National Weather Service.
Arizona is experiencing record heat this summer and not providing “functional air conditioning poses serious, and potentially fatal, health and safety risks,” Mayes said.
it’s “absolutely unacceptable” for Arizonans not to have air conditioning in “the middle of summer,” she said.
“Our summers get hotter and hotter and hotter — we need to be sending a signal to landlords that they have obligations under the law,” the attorney general said.
“If they break the law, by not upholding their end of the bargain when they took money from tenants to provide safe and livable conditions, including air conditioning, then we are going to come after them,” she added.
Mayes informed Celtic Property Management of the information she had about the non-functioning air conditioning at ULM.
The letter cited four examples of publicly known incidents that have occurred at ULM. It said the chiller system at the facility malfunctioned last week, resulting in a lack of air conditioning for almost a week. Additionally, the letter stated ULM tenants have received medical care for heat-related injuries.
These dangerous heat levels have prompted the Phoenix Fire Department to visit ULM multiple times and necessitated an inspection of the facility by the city of Phoenix, the letter stated.
To help tenants who did not have air conditioning working during this period, ULM had its residents sleep on air mattresses in the community recreation center, according to the letter.
Mayes also noted the near 100-degree temperature experiences exceed the city of Phoenix’s maximum 82-degree temperature requirement.
Excessive heat exposure, particularly for individuals over 60 years old, can be hazardous. The letter said seniors are “among the worst affected by excessive heat.” It references a study that says between 82% and 92% of people who die from heat-related causes are above age 60.
Besides being potentially in violation of Phoenix City Code, the letter stated the property management company may also be violating the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act and the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act.
The Arizona Landlord Tenant Act requires landlords to “provide functional air conditioning and habitable conditions for all tenants.” This law mandates Arizona landlords fix a broken air conditioning unit within five days of written notice. The timeframe could be shorter based on the individual city code.
As for the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, Mayes stated ULM currently has advertisements online detailing how the company will be able to “safely house and accommodate elderly residents.”
The letter noted ULM does not abide by these “implicit and explicit assurances,” and therefore, may be potentially violating this law, which prohibits the “deceptive advertising of real estate leases.”
Mayes said ULM must comply with all three laws and repair every air conditioning unit at the facility by 5 p.m. Friday. Furthermore, Mayes is requiring a written confirmation of compliance.
If ULM is unable to do this, then Mayes said the company must offer remedies, such as alternative housing, until the air conditioning units are fixed.
The attorney general also urged Arizonans to contact her office if any complex is not providing adequate air conditioning.
“I take this issue very seriously. We will continue to take action, if necessary, if they don’t come into compliance ASAP,” she said.
