A growing number of states and cities now treat cooling the way the law has long treated heat. Jurisdictions across the Sun Belt and beyond have adopted maximum indoor temperature standards or require landlords to maintain any air conditioning provided with the unit. Even where no explicit cooling statute exists, a failed AC in a 100-degree week can trigger habitability claims, rent withholding, or emergency repair-and-deduct actions. Preparing in late spring is dramatically cheaper than reacting in July.
Schedule professional HVAC service for each unit in May or early June, before contractors hit their summer backlog and emergency rates. A standard tune-up, refrigerant check, coil cleaning, condensate line flush, capacitor test, runs $80 to $200 per system and catches most of the failures that otherwise surface during the first heat wave. Replace filters at the same visit and leave a season's supply with tenants who are responsible for swaps. For window units you supply, test each one and clean the filters and coils.
Send a short summer notice covering three things: how to report an AC failure and what your response timeline is during extreme heat; simple efficiency habits, closing blinds on sun-facing windows, setting reasonable thermostat targets, not blocking vents; and what tenants must not do, such as installing unauthorized window units that damage sills or overload circuits. If you pay utilities, this note also protects you from runaway bills. Put it in writing so the record exists.
Decide now what happens when an AC dies on a Friday afternoon in a heat emergency. Line up a primary and backup HVAC vendor with agreed pricing, and budget for portable AC units or hotel reimbursement as stopgaps when repairs will take days. In several jurisdictions, prolonged loss of cooling during declared heat emergencies can legally justify temporary tenant relocation at the landlord's expense, so a $400 portable unit on a shelf is cheap insurance.
Walk each property checking attic ventilation, weatherstripping, and window seals; these drive cooling loads as much as the equipment. Trim vegetation away from condenser units, confirm they sit level, and verify ceiling fans work in every room that has one. For multifamily buildings, test common-area cooling and confirm hallway ventilation.
Log each service visit, tenant notice, and repair with dates and invoices. If a habitability dispute ever arises over summer conditions, that file is your defense. Summer prep done in one organized week of spring routinely saves multiples of its cost in emergency calls, tenant turnover, and legal exposure.
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