A Western Australia renter has asked for a new air conditioner after a repair left the unit working but still not cold enough, and was told a full replacement could cost around $10,000. The request now sits at the point where a repair has been done, but the tenant still wants the whole system swapped out.
The renter has lived in the property for the past 12 months and said the hot weather was so unbearable that they bought a fan and a portable air con unit just to get by. After multiple tradies inspected the unit and gave quotes for new systems, a repairman changed a part and the air conditioner started working again. Even so, the renter and their partner have just signed a new 12-month lease because they love the house.
That timing matters because the question is no longer whether the air conditioner failed, but whether a landlord has to go beyond a repair and fund an upgrade. In Western Australia, rental law says a landlord must keep the premises and any fixtures or appliances they provide in good working order and in a reasonable state of repair under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA). If an item breaks, the landlord must arrange repairs within standard timeframes.
That is where the renter's complaint runs into the legal limit. The unit is now officially working, and the renter says it is cold but not cold enough. On these facts, the law is generally satisfied once the appliance has been repaired and is functioning, which makes it unlikely the renter can force a landlord to pay for a brand-new $10,000 system simply because the old one is not delivering the comfort level they want.
The issue is framed as a repair-versus-upgrade dispute, and that distinction is doing the heavy lifting. A landlord may have to fix what is broken, but that does not automatically turn into a duty to install a more powerful or newer model when the existing one has been restored to working order. The open question now is whether the landlord will choose to replace the unit anyway, even though the law does not clearly require it.
For the renter, the practical answer is already clear: the air conditioner may be repaired, but the fight over a replacement is not the same thing as a repair claim. Unless the landlord agrees voluntarily, the better cooling they want is likely to remain a wish rather than a legal entitlement.
