MEMPHIS, Tenn. - With the frigid temperatures behind us, thousands of Mid-South families are now learning their air conditioners do not work.

“To come in here and sleep in the heat all night, it's unbearable," said Erica Davis.

Davis told FOX13 that the air conditioning has been out in her Frayser apartment complex for two weeks. However, her landlord recently installed new air conditioning units and crews were seen doing construction on the property.

“It is really hot in here," she said. "I have asthma. We can barely breathe in here due to the heat.”

As FOX13 has reported time and time again, Tennessee renters do not have a right to air conditioning. The Landlord-Tenant Act requires that a landlord provide essential services, but those are only defined as “gas, heat, electricity and any other obligations imposed upon the landlord which materially affect the health and safety of the tenant."

“It's long been a concern,” said Cindy Ettingoff, the owner of Ettingoff Law and Mediation. “It’s a concern because Memphis is so hot.”

Ettingoff warned that tenants should continue to pay their rent, even if they are missing this critical utility.

“If you fail to pay, they have the right to evict you,” she said.

Attorney Michael Working agreed that the law should be updated to better protect renters.  

“It's probably time that we raise our standards as a society about what is the health and safety of those in the homes,” Working said.

Here is how renters can advocate for themselves within the limits of the law:

1. Test the air conditioning before you move into your home or apartment (even in the winter)
2. Double check that air conditioning is included in your lease
3. Notify your landlord in writing if your air conditioning breaks

Ettingoff told FOX13 that the law grants landlords two weeks to start working on a problem.

“Generally, if they have started working within two weeks, they're considered to be compliant,” Working agreed.

After this story was published, a spokesperson for the City of Memphis contacted FOX13. She wanted to emphasize that if a renter's air conditioning breaks they can call Code Enforcement at 311. Per the city's Code of Ordinance, "If heating and air conditioning are furnished, the property owner has to keep it in good working condition."