Residents of a downtown Winnipeg apartment building are broiling with frustration after their air conditioning broke down days ago.

"It's an unhealthy situation," said Leslie Hutton, who moved into the building a year ago.

On Friday, apartments in the highrise at 33 Hargrave St. started to swelter.

Two weeks ago, one of the building's two "chiller units" went offline, according to a letter distributed to tenants by the property manager from Timbercreek Communities, which was shared with CBC News. The letter said a hydro transformer had failed and a new one would not be installed until June 22.

The situation got significantly worse after the second chiller had electrical issues. At the same time, there was record-breaking heat in Winnipeg on Friday, hitting 34.5 C.

Even with slightly cooler weather on Monday, the apartments' temperatures were nearly 30 C.

A resident brought CBC News into their apartment to show a thermostat of nearly 30 C on Monday. (Cliff Simpson/CBC)

Hutton said she understand that things break, but the situation has become unsafe.

"We are unable to cook, unable to use the washing machine because it gives off heat," she said. "Last night people were telling me they won't turn on any lights."

To deal with the temperature, Hutton purchased ice packs that she even sleeps with. Buying multiple fans doesn't help much, Hutton said, because her apartment has wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows that don't open and don't slide.

"This, in my mind, is an emergency situation," she said.

Leslie Hutton says the situation has become unsafe in the apartment building. (Cliff Simpson/CBC)

Some of the apartments do have a window that opens, but it's only supposed to be for firefighter access in an emergency. Resident Sean Neufeld said he received a letter which said if that fire exit window is opened, tenants can be liable for damage.

"I have my window open anyway," Neufeld said, adding he has been told it's a breach of his lease, but he thinks the unlivable conditions should be a breach on the building manager's end.

Neufeld, his girlfriend, his puppy and two cats are considering heading to a hotel to ride out their apartment's heat wave.

Renato Rossi, left, his wife and young daughter are spending most of their time out of their apartment because it's unbearably hot. (Cliff Simpson/CBC)

Renato Rossi said he's not sure his wife and baby daughter can last much longer in their hot apartment either. They are already spending most of the day outside because it's unbearable, he said.

"It doesn't make sense how it would take so long for a part to be replaced and get the problem fixed," he said. "We would like that to be fixed in days but they are saying weeks."

Desiree Boitson had already planned to move out and says her baking apartment is a reason to say good riddance.

"It is so hot. It's sweltering and there's nothing we can do about changing the temperature because you can't get any air circulation," she said as she packed her belongings into a moving truck on Monday.

"[It's] unbearable. I don't want to be here. I wouldn't want to live here any longer than today."

In an email to CBC News, a city spokesperson said there is a bylaw which says, unless there is a operational central air-conditioning system, rooms — excluding kitchens and bathrooms — must have at least one window which can be easily opened. However, because the building cannot be redesigned, the property owner should fix the air conditioner in a reasonable time period.

The city has received complaints about the property and are investigating, the spokesperson said.

Through a Facebook message, Laura Holland with Timbercreek Communities said they are taking the situation very seriously, especially given the unseasonably warm weather.

"We are doing everything we can to expedite the repair of the A/C and to keep our residents as comfortable as possible during this time," Holland wrote.

"It is our priority to get this resolved as soon as possible. We are continuing to investigate other options to provide more cooling to the suites while the A/C is being repaired."