Section 8 Tenant keeping A/C on 50 degrees

[Joshua Maisel]

Hi All,

Today I was at a rental property replacing the water main shut off valves (both sides of the water meter) in the basement.  One of the old gate valves didn't work at all and the other wasn't far behind it so both were replaced.  I also replaced the HVAC filter while there.  In order to do so I had to turn off the ac unit at the thermostat which is where I was STUNNED to see it was set on 50 degrees.  This is the lowest the digital thermostat will go.  The central air unit/coil was newly installed a few months before I bought the place so I'm not expecting/planning any capital expenditures on the unit.  I'm aware of how bad this is and wanted some folks opinions on how to handle.  Granted the electric is in the tenants name but I'm more concerned with the life span of my systems.  What should/can I do????  Programmable thermostat where I can lock it to not go below or above a certain temp?  Anything else/different?

I've already spoken with the tenant and let her know not to turn it below 70 because the unit can't get the house cooler then that.  When it was set at 50, the inside temp was still at 69....  

Has anyone had to deal with something like this?  

Regards,