Do landlords have to provide air conditioning in West New York, NJ?

West New York is a municipality on the Hudson River in Hudson County, New Jersey, so the question of air conditioning in a rental there falls under New Jersey law and the town's own code, not New York State rules.

New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs addresses air conditioning in its habitability bulletin. Residential leases carry an implied warranty of habitability, meaning the landlord must keep the unit fit to live in and repair vital facilities. The bulletin then cites Park Hill Terrace v. Glennon, where the court held that air conditioning was part of the original tenancy and that its failure affected the habitability of the premises. It adds that not every defect or inconvenience breaches the warranty, and that each case turns on its own facts.

The appellate opinion in that case frames the questions as whether air conditioning can be an element of habitability that allows a rent abatement when it fails, and whether a landlord's timely efforts to fix it defeat the claim. It describes a Fort Lee apartment house of about 100 dwellings where central air conditioning was provided to tenants and contemplated under the written leases. The bulletin's summary, not the facts of one building, is the grounded takeaway: air conditioning that came with the tenancy can bear on habitability.

West New York's rent-control chapter, Chapter 312 of the town code, defines housing services as the services and equipment included in the base rent at no extra charge. Its list covers light, heat, hot water, maintenance, painting, elevator service, air conditioning, storm windows, screens and superintendent services. That is a definition of what counts as part of a rent, not a statement of what a landlord must install.

Heat is the better-defined obligation. New Jersey's rule at N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4 requires multiple dwellings to be kept at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and at least 65 degrees overnight, between October 1 and May 15. West New York's Ordinance 218-15 notice covers heating in buildings where the landlord has agreed to supply it.

A tenant whose air conditioning has failed should read the lease and the habitability bulletin, and contact the town's code or housing office about the specific unit.