Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in District of Columbia

In Maryland, a tenant is not permitted to make repairs and deduct the cost from the rent without prior permission from the landlord. The only exception I'm aware of is in Baltimore City where such repair-and deduct may be allowed under emergency circumstances, and lack of A/C is not an emergency situation. The tenant who attempts to repair and deduct costs from the rent risks eviction for non-payment of rent. I would not call a repair company to fix the A/C unless you are willing to get stuck with the cost.

You may want to consider the following course of action:

1.) Draft a POLITE written letter to the management office, explaining that: (i) you have reported ongoing problems with your A/C to the management office on several occasions, (ii) the problem has not been fixed and the hot weather isn't going away any time soon, (iii) section ________ of your lease states "it is the landlord's responsibility to repair and maintain the A/C units", and (iv) if the problem is not fixed within 7 business days from receipt of the letter, you may be forced to take legal action due to the management company's continued breach of contract.

2.) If that doesn't get the A/C problem fixed, I may consider hiring a Maryland attorney to take further action on your behalf. That attorney will want to you see and use your written letter to the management company, so please keep it professional when you write it!

Best regards.

This above does not establish an attorney-client relationship and is instead intended for informational purposes only.