Denver-area trees are budding earlier than usual, and bees are buzzing around. And people are looking for the air conditioning “on” switch just one day into spring as the mercury keeps rising above 80.
Lane Hunter that AC might not be turned on in his apartment building until early or mid-May.
“It’s 82 degrees in my apartment right now at 10 p.m. in March,” he said Thursday night.
Denver, where Hunter lives, hit 85 degrees Thursday, a new record high temperature for the month since forecasters started keeping records in 1872. Records fell across the metro and in spots in the mountains.
More heat is forecast through Saturday. The National Weather Service in Boulder said a reprieve is coming Sunday for those who aren’t ready for summer-like weather. The highs are expected to drop into the 70s before rising again by mid-week.
Hunter and other tenants in his building received emails from the owner, RedPeak, on Thursday saying that the building operates on a two-pipe system. When the heat is on, cooling can’t be turned on and vice versa. The company said shifting between the two involves draining and bringing the entire system to the right temperature, which takes up to three days.
Colorado law requires owners to provideheat until April 30, the email said.
“As the saying goes, it could be eighty degrees one week and a blizzard the next!” RedPeak said.
Messages left with RedPeak have not been returned.
State law requires that heat in a residential premises stay on through April as part of what’s called the “Warranty of Habitability,” said Andrew Hamrick, general counsel and senior vice president of government affairs for the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.
“I can see why a rental housing provider might be afraid to turn off the heating system given that it would represent a violation of the Warranty of Habitability, which provides for extremely punitive penalties,” Hamrick said in an email.
Hunter said he doesn’t have any complaints about the apartment, but thought the email about the air conditioning was comical. Tenants can keep the heat off in their apartments, but can’t turn on the cooling.
“Being from Atlanta, I do enjoy the warmer season more than the cold season. But it was pretty shocking to be told that we can’t turn the air on even though it’s 80 degrees,” Hunter said.
People who commented on Hunter’s post suggested that he open his windows or use a fan. He had done both.
Hunter understands how unpredictable Colorado weather can be. He played in a band for Denver’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2025.
“It was pretty cold. I was wearing layers,” Lane said. “This year, I watched the parade and I wanted to take my shirt off.”
Updated to add detail and comment
