ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The summer heat in New Mexico is brutal. Most of us would rather stay inside where it’s nice and cool. But if your air conditioning stopped working, you’d probably consider that an emergency.

Close to half the people in Albuquerque are renters. That means our emergencies are often in the hands of someone else, who might not be in a rush to spend money on a fix.

At 69 years old, Gilbert Chavez has just one daily must do. These days, he’s doing a lot of it.

“Eight to 10 bottles [of water] a day, I have to,” said Chavez.

For Chavez, the sweltering summer heat is inescapable. His apartment air conditioner stopped working months ago. He’s got a fan, but it only circulates hot air.

“I would like to have a nice dinner. I can’t, it’s too hot. I have to make me a sandwich,” said Chavez. “Sandwich in the morning, sandwich in the afternoon, I have to.”

At NewLife Homes on Delia in southwest Albuquerque, some neighbors are just as sweaty.

“They gave me a portable unit, but it wastes a lot of electricity. My breakers go out,” said Henrietta Correa, another apartment resident who says her A/C has been out for months.

Thanks to that, her electric bill is on an unaffordable climb.

Chavez said he’s asked for repairs in May, June and July, too. And the days are only getting hotter. 

Dr. Sarita Warrick, chief medical officer of Optum New Mexico and Arizona, said when temps climb, so do heat-related health risks.

“Heat exhaustion can happen is saunas or in homes without air conditioning as well. So, it’s not just an outdoor thing,” said Warrick.

Especially for people like Chavez, a stroke patient, who takes a handful of daily meds to keep his health in check.

People who rent, like Chavez, have rights. City Code Compliance Manager Angelo Metzgar is in charge of making sure landlords follow city housing codes.

“You gotta have electricity, you gotta have gas, you gotta have water services, you gotta have proper sewage,” he said. “You gotta make sure you have heating capabilities.”

The city can fine landlords up to $500 a day if they don’t correct problems with those things. It’s all reportable by calling 311. But A/C is not on the list.

While it is not on the city’s housing code requirements, Metzgar said people can still call 311. He said the city will try to help in any way it can.

While there’s not a city ordinance, there is a state law. It doesn’t require air conditioning be installed but if you have it, landlords are required to maintain it.

Seven days after written notice to a landlord, you can withhold a portion of rent. It’s what New Mexico Legal Aid said in a letter to Gilbert Chavez.

According to New Mexico Legal Aid:

“If a landlord does not fix the A/C or does not make another repair that affects health and safety (heat in winter, hot water, pest infestation, broken toilets, broken fridge), the tenant needs to give the landlord written notice They can send a letter, email or text, or they can use this form.

If the landlord does not fix the thing in 7 days, the tenant can withhold a portion of the rent.  If the tenant continues to live in the home, the tenant can withhold 1/3 of the daily rent back to the date of written notice until the date the thing is fixed. If the unit is uninhabitable and the tenant does not live in the home while the repairs are pending, the tenant can withhold 100% of the daily rent the date of written notice until the date the thing is fixed.

Alternatively, the tenant can sometimes end the lease if the landlord fails to take reasonable steps to make the repair.

In addition, the tenant can go to court to ask a judge to order the landlord to make the repair.  A tenant in ABQ can go to the Metropolitan Court self-help center at 401 Lomas Blvd NW and ask to file a Tenant Action for possession. The court will waive the $77 filing fee for low-income litigants and will generally schedule a hearing on 3 to 5 days after service of the summons.

To get legal advice, tenants can call NMLA at 1-833-545-4357, M-Th 10-3.”

But letting it play out in court feels risky. NM Legal Aid said landlords often file eviction against renters who withhold payment.

“Honestly, I don’t have nowhere to go,” said Chavez.

KOB 4 was there when apartment staff finally got his portable unit up and running. But until the A/C is fixed, he daydreams of colder days.

JL Gray manages that property. After we reached out, the company replaced the A/C units. The company said it will also discount rent for the months Chavez and others went without.