ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Dozens of tenants at a south St. Petersburg apartment complex are trying to cope without working air conditioning, telling 10 Tampa Bay that some have been without A/C for months and are now taking action in court to get some relief.
Kiasha Bennett’s A/C unit went out more than a month ago inside her apartment at Alta Mar at Broadwater where she and around three dozen neighbors suffer inside with temperatures frequently over 90 degrees.
“Very frustrating, hot, miserable,” Bennett says. “We had two private contractors come out and take a look and they both said that the unit was completely outdated, there was nothing that they could do to repair it. It needed to be replaced.”
They also say there has been no cooling off outside in the two closed and drained pools.
“I can no longer afford to pay rent and be uncomfortable and confined into one space in my home,” she says.
When 10 Tampa Bay asked the property manager about the broken units, they told us someone from corporate would call but we haven't heard back.
They're telling residents they can't replace units until permits are pulled, but we checked and no applications have been filed with Pinellas County.
“I’ve seen some similar leases from this complex before and they do state that they'll provide air conditioning,” says Brooks Fusselman, a landlord/tenant attorney at Community Law Program, which helps tenants pro-bono. “I believe they go on to state that essentially you need to give them notice.”
So what rights do tenants have? None, unless providing A/C is specifically in the lease because Florida law doesn't require landlords to provide it.
“I'm shocked to hear that because Florida heat is unbearable,” Bennett says. “So I’m really shocked but luckily for us, on page eight of our lease, they have that verbiage in there, so they broke their own contract.”
“If they sort of go radio silent for too long or it seems like an inordinate amount of time to get a permit pulled, I would give them notice again and again,” he says. “The more you can put into writing, the better.”
So now Bennett and others are taking their complaints to court, giving the owner, Pacifica Companies, one week to fix the A/C or potentially break the lease and move.
“Don't just get frustrated and give up and lay down and take this because this is the money that you're giving to someone,” Bennett says.
Adding to the headache, to not have to pay rent while the A/C is broken, Bennett and her neighbors will likely need to wait for eviction proceedings, then hope a judge rules in their favor.
Those tenants have been filing code complaints too and the city tells 10 Tampa Bay there are 23 active cases against the complex. It has more than $150,000 in liens against it because of code violations, including non-working air conditioning, which is part of St. Pete building code.