Arizona Attorney General investigates Phoenix apartment complex; hundreds without air conditioning

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Hundreds of people in a Phoenix apartment complex are glad help is coming after nearly two months without air conditioning.

The state’s attorney general is now getting involved after being the first to read the article about these families in Arizona.

Kris Mayes threatens legal action and demands that managers fix the problem immediately.

The apartment complex near the Indian School and 32nd Avenue initially said work might be halted until December.

The people who live in these apartments say it is horrible and dangerous to be without air conditioning during the intense summer heat, and they say if it weren’t for our story, they would still be waiting for something to happen.

“I can’t be patient any longer because I’m dying. Until I’m patient, they’re going to take me out on a stretcher and I’m going to die,” said tenant Heather Boyles.

Boyles says they can’t wait for the air conditioning in their apartment to work again.

The cooling system is defective and company management announced on Tuesday that it would take another 16 weeks to find a permanent solution.

But a temporary system was installed that same day. Arizona’s family was told it would be up and running by the end of the day and would hopefully cool hundreds of homes for the first time in weeks.

“We will be eternally grateful that we have some cool air to retreat to and not have to worry about our lives,” Boyles said.

But this progress only came about when Arizona’s family got involved.

Our reporting prompted Attorney General Kris Mayes to send a warning letter to the Buenas Real Estate Agency on the 32nd.

“Shortly after your article appeared, we sat down and decided to send investigators to the apartment complex to confirm your reporting and investigate the conditions,” Mayes said.

Mayes says the complex appears to be violating several Arizona state laws and that they have until Friday to fix the air conditioning system.

“This is the bare minimum and if you don’t provide air conditioning to your tenants, we will go after you. We will make sure you comply with the law and protect your tenants from potential injury or death,” Mayes said.

City officials say that in addition to the problem this summer, there have been eight cases related to cooling code violations at the complex since 2021.

“It makes me feel good to have someone jump into battle for us because we were all alone and we are so grateful for that,” Boyles said.

There are concerns that this could happen in other apartment complexes.

Mayes says they want to hold all landlords accountable by ensuring everyone has access to adequate air conditioning.

Anyone experiencing a similar problem is asked to file a complaint so the case can be investigated.

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