Landlord trying to set limits on AC unit

Location: Connecticut

I live in in apartment complex in Connecticut. Today, our property manager sent out a mass email saying that maintenance is going to enter all units in the next few days to reprogram our AC units so that they can’t be set below 70 degrees. They claim, in the email, that setting the AC temp below 70 degrees causes ice buildup and damage to the units.

I’ve lived here for almost 2 years and I haven’t experienced any kind of ice buildup on our AC unit. I don’t believe that they are trying to reprogram our AC units for maintenance reasons. We have always kept it at 60 degrees, even often in the winter because we’re on an upper floor and it’s always stiflingly hot in here. The common areas and elevators are like an oven, even in winter. And with the current heatwave, it’s been unbearable.

Even with our AC units constantly set to 60 degrees, our apartment temp never falls below about 73-75 degrees at the lowest. If we try to turn off the AC or raise the temp, even for an hour, it quickly becomes unbearably hot in here.

There doesn’t seem to be any kind of central HVAC or ventilation in our building at all. Our AC units don’t even actually bring in any outside air. They just cycle the air in the room.

With the current heatwave, I’m worried that our apartment will be unlivable if they do reprogram our AC unit. And even without the heatwave in play, the AC units we have are completely ineffective if set at anything above 60 degrees.

Do I have any legal recourse here to prevent them from doing this?