Renting House Thats Family Owns

I'm not going to make a negative statement so please understand. I'm going to make a practical one.

Friendship ends where money is concerned.

In other words, the house is the homeowner's ultimate responsibility. The renting of the house comes with responsibilities as well for the homeowner. One is to maintain the electrical system if there was no problem caused by the rentors (you guys). I suggest reading up on the landlord laws for GA as this is always good information to know before going into any renting contract with ANYONE.

Push the fact that she's family to the very back of your mind. It's not practical to consider feelings when you're dealing with contractual issues such as renting. It's business and always will be. She knows this. She also knew the A/C was probably going to go out but was putting off replacing it.

Get 5 estimates on replacement for the unit. NOT REPAIR. Replacement. Repair on an old unit is worthless. I speak from experience as we've just dropped the repair bills on our unit and opted to buy a whole new one instead and we don't regret it a bit.

Give her a copy of the estimates and all of you sit down and discuss this at a neutral location such as a restaurant. Emotions won't run as high at a restaurant and you can have a peaceful, logical discussion. Get her agreement to pay for the replacement and the payback to you guys from your rent IN WRITING, whether you feel comfortable with that or not. It will protect you!

After the unit is replaced, start taking out the replacement costs from your rent. KEEP VERY ACCURATE RECORDS! If SHE agrees to replace it with her own money, tie her down to an exact date and hold her to it. Let her know that if the unit isn't replaced by this date, you'll have it replaced yourself and will take it out of the rent payments. Get everything in writing! Make absolutely sure you PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME. You don't want her to have reason to give you a negative reference or be spiteful about things. You should never give anyone a reason to make things harder on yourselves in the longrun.

Legally, rentors cannot "hold the rent" on an agreement without solid WRITTEN evidence that a contract has been broken. You really should read up on the GA landlord laws.

You have a BUSINESS deal and all parties should act responsibly about it.

Family or not she is taking advantage of you because you are family had her renters been someone else...what would they do???
I can tell you they'd put the rent aside and tell her if she can't fix it then they are going to move elsewhere and if she said I'll take you to court I bet the renters would win. You aren't causing problems she has a responsibility, period.
I'd call soon again and remind her some real hot days are coming soon and you'd like to know what day to expect the repairmen...if she beats around the bush you have your answer...then with hold the rent and tell her when she calls I guess we need to find a new place with air conditioning.

Offer to find someone to fix it, pay for it and then you deduct the amount from the rent.

When the rent comes due does she expect you to pay it? I mean, you guys are family, she doesn't really expect rent on time, right? I'm being sarcastic here. Of course she expects her money - and should. It's a business arrangement, family or not. And you have to think of it that way when you request that things be fixed. Do you have rental agreement? If not, you should.
Good luck.

This is exactly the reason it is so often said that business and friednship (or family) do not mix. If she has given you some kind of super deal awesome deal on the rent amount, then you are somewhat at her mercy. If, on the other hand, you are paying full amount for rent, she is clearly taking advantage of the situations. If I understand correctly, two weeks is the amount of time you have been without a/c upstairs. That is more than enough time to have resolved the situation. Family or not, you need to have some kind of signed lease agreement. This protects both of you. The agreement should also have some kind of reference concerning repairs. This is a legally binding agreement. I agree with the one who said you can not legally withhold rent, but she can not legally refrain from doing repairs. The reality is that if one of you does not uphold your end of the agreement, it requires legal action to resolve the situation and hold the violator accountable. This is something most families are reluctant to do. I am sure she knows this which is why she is exploiting the situation. Ask her in the nicest way possible if she is going to be as reluctant to hold you accountable if you withhold rent, as you have been in holding her accountable for failing to make the necessary repairs. There are a number of ways of ways you can deal with the current issue of having no a/c. You can offer to have it done yourself and ask for reimbursement. You can stay in a hotel and ask for reimbursement. You can offer to change residences with her until the siutaion is resolved. Alas, these are solutions to a smaller problem. The bigger problem than having no a/c is that you are renting (I assume at full price--if not, you get what you pay for) from a landlord who is irresponsible and and taking advantage of a renter who pays the necessary money agreed upon without holding her to the same responsibilities. After 2 weeks, you might get your a/c repaired or replaced but will it be 2+ weeks again when the stove quits working? Will you have to wait this same amount of time if the roof starts leaking? I would tell her you intend to go ahead and pay the repair yourself if it is not done within th next two days. Stick to your guns and if she does not fix, then have the repair done, pay for it and explain you feel you are due reimbursement and ask if she would prefer you deduct it from the next month's rent. If she agrees, ask if all repairs will be handled in this manner. If she does not agree, ask her how she is okay holding you legally accountable for rent when she feels no obligation to be held accountable for repairs. If she demands full rent with the understanding she can take legal steps to get, then you should not feel uneasy about taking the same legal steps to be reimbursed for the a/c repair. I would get several estimates--in writing!!! Give her copies and keep the originals for your own records. Lastly--put in your notice that you are moving out. If this is a violation of your lease, simply ask her what available options she would prefer to use to resolve the situation as peacefully as possible. Then explain the options as you see them, (1) she allows you to legally terminate your lease agreeement (2) You remain in the home with a specific time frame allocated for repairs to be done and a guarantee such timelines will be adhered to (3) Explain you will continue your arrangement but mutually agree to hold the other party accountable for agreed upon obligations despite family connections (not the preferred method). Tell her what is NOT an option is that you continue to uphold your legal obligations according to the lease agreement while neglecting to hold her to the same accountability. In the future, document EVERYTHING--including notification of repairs needed. When something needs repairs, notify her IN WRITING (have it notarized if necessary) and keep a copy. Hopefully this will set a tone of someone who wishes to conduct business peacefully and responsibly without being taken advantage of and she will perceive that and honor it. If she knows you wish her no ill will but fully intend to hold her accountable, perhaps she will conduct her self professionally but the truth is, those willing to exploit others as long as they can get by with have no integrity--sadly our world is full of people like that.

Good luck!!

ANY landlord would be responsible to take care of the air conditioning. It sounds like you are being taken advantage of. I think I would let my husband call the shots with withholding rent money until the problem is solved. If they come to you with a complaint, say, "don't ask me -- as my husband." And move before the relationship gets more strained.