Cape Coral woman living without AC since January

A woman with a disability has been living without air conditioning since January, and right now, in the middle of a record-breaking summer, that makes her condo a no-can-do.

She and her contractor have come up with multiple ways to fix it, but she said that the HOA has shut them down. Living without air conditioning since January, hot is all Linda Cook knows.

“In the morning, you know, I feel like a fried egg,” Cook said.

She told WINK News that it has been going on since Jan. 2.

“I noticed that the fan kept running. There was no cool air coming out,” Cook said. “What they confirmed was that I have a refrigerant leak.”

Cook found out the majority of her A/C wiring was built underground, which doesn’t make for an easy fix. She found a contractor willing to do the job, but she said her homeowner’s association has blocked every idea he’s come up with.

“My contractor had worked all of this out, and they don’t even think they looked at the whole thing, but they said no,” Cook said.

Multiple proposals later, Cook told WINK News that she felt stuck in a sea of red tape, as her thermostat climbs in these sweaty summer months.

“I always thought that an HOA worked, worked with the homeowner, you know, worked with the residents and helped you resolve things, but they have just stirred everything up,” Cook said.

And with life already harder for her than most, she feels helpless against it at all.

“Withholding air from, you know, a senior disabled with health issues. How can that be legal?” Cook said. “I’m disgusted. I’m disgusted with the way that they have conducted themselves.”

Cook told WINK News that she’s also worried about mold growing in her condo with no air flow.