Does your city have a maximum heat law yet?

July 3rd, 2023 made global headlines as the “Hottest Day Ever”. That is, until July 4th. Then came the 5th. In fact, the past two weeks have seen successive days breaking the heat records set only days (or hours) earlier. And in North America, the people whose lives are most at risk in this heat are renters without access to cool air in their homes.

In this article we will share the key information to help you understand the specific risks to renters, highlight the work of the community heroes who are leading the way, and show you the steps you can take today to help protect renters from the life-threatening dangers of extreme heat. 

THE DANGER FOR RENTERS

If past heat events are a guide, then the one we are currently in will kill thousands of people around the world. And yet, we know that with the right laws and support in place, most heat-related deaths are preventable. 

The majority of heat-related deaths happen in the place where we are supposed to be safest – our homes. A study of the heat dome in British Columbia that claimed over 600 lives (at least), revealed that 98% of these deaths happened inside homes without adequate cooling systems. Another study showed that indoor temperatures can soar up to 10 degrees hotter than the already blistering temperatures outside.  

And when it comes to heat-related illnesses and deaths in homes, renters are by far the most vulnerable. Renters are often lower-income, people of colour, or living with a disability when compared to homeowners. They are also more likely to live in aging buildings that lack efficient temperature controls and air conditioning. This makes access to cooler indoor spaces for renters a human rights issue. It also means that looking out for renters is crucial to supporting safe and healthy communities.

THE HEROES LEADING THE WAY – AND WHAT THEY’RE DOING TO PROTECT RENTERS

The people leading the charge to protect renters serve as an example of the best of our shared values: supporting our communities and taking care of one another. Their work is paving the way to save thousands of lives. Here’s how:

• Establishing “maximum heat” bylaws
  • ACORN: Tenant advocacy group ACORN launched their “Beat the Heat” campaign in 2020. Primary among their demands is that landlords provide central air conditioning or AC units to tenants when the average air temperature goes over 23℃. You can add your voice to the campaign here.
    
    In September 2022, ACORN also released a report on the effects of extreme heat for residents in their Hamilton, ON chapter. It highlights a list of demands for the City of Hamilton, to ensure rental housing is safe for residents during heat events.
    
    In response to this, Ward 2 councillor Cameron Kroetsch put forward a motion to develop a maximum heat bylaw at a public health committee meeting in May 2023. It was unanimously passed and is set to go into effect in 2024.
  • NDP MPP Jessica Bell: Bell is the Official Opposition Critic, Housing, Tenant Rights, and Urban Planning for the NDP in Ontario. In 2021, she penned a public letter to Minister Steve Clark of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Among other demands, it called for including a maximum temperature allowed within residential units in the Residential Tenancies Act. You can add your name to her letter here
  • Climate Action Toronto: Climate Action Toronto is a grassroots group of young people in Toronto, fighting for a just and fair future. They are advocating for a maximum heat bylaw in Toronto to protect renters without cooling systems. They are also calling for the creation of cooling spaces in each apartment building in the most affected areas: St. James Town, Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke. You can sign the petition to the City of Toronto here, and join their movement for tenants rights here.
  • ACTO: Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) has released a report that provides draft language for a maximum heat bylaw that can also be adapted for use in other areas.
• Requiring landlords to provide air conditioning
  • Senator Mike Simmons: Senator Simmons sponsored a bill that would require all state-funded affordable housing units to have air conditioning installed and controlled by residents. The bill was signed into law by the Illinois senate on June 30, 2023.
  • Montgomery County Council Member Tom Hucker: Hucker sponsored a bill that would require landlords to provide air conditioning to tenants, keeping the indoor air below 26.6℃ (80℉) in summer. The bill was unanimously approved and signed into law on March 2nd, 2020. It has since provided life-saving protections for the roughly 300,000 renters in Montgomery county.

MORE SOLUTIONS FOR GOVERNMENTS AND DECISION-MAKERS

• Establish grants and incentives for retrofitting older rentals: While air conditioning is a life-saving climate adaptation for the present, it is not an ideal climate safe solution for the long term. Governments need to provide grants and incentives to private landlords to install climate resilience and energy efficiency upgrades, like temperature moderating insulation, sealing leaks around doors/windows, and installing heat pumps.
• Expand utility bill assistance programs: The cost of running an AC unit can be prohibitive for some. Governments must expand assistance for low-income renters to help with energy costs. A good example is the LIHEAP Cooling Assistance Program. No one should have to decide between buying food for their family, or paying for life-saving air conditioning for their homes.
• Prohibit utility shutoffs: Cutting off tenants’ utilities in a heat wave can have deadly outcomes. Utility companies must be prohibited from disconnecting services during extreme heat events. They must also be required to reinstate service to disconnected households. 
• Subsidize cooling devices: Governments must establish subsidy programs or direct supply initiatives (like NYC and B.C. have). The goal is to support low-income households in accessing cooling devices, like air conditioners or fans.
• Crack down on landlords who interfere in cooling efforts: Municipal governments need to enact financial penalties for landlords. These penalties would deter those who try to stop tenants from installing AC units (like some did in B.C), or illegally charge extra for their use. This is one of the demands of ACORN’s Beat the Heat campaign.
• Invest in urban green spaces: Even within the same city, temperatures can vary widely. Green spaces and tree cover are important for reducing “heat islands” – areas where the temperature is even warmer than the average. Many of the densely packed, multi-family buildings that renters live in exist in these heat islands.
  
   We also know that people of colour are far more likely to live in heat island areas, which contributes to the unequal impacts of climate change for vulnerable groups. Green space in these areas would provide vital access to cooling for those who don’t have indoor air conditioning.
  
  Governments must take steps to disrupt heat islands. This includes creating more green spaces in marginalized neighbourhoods, investing in parks and urban forests, and replacing or adapting large paved areas.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Based on current predictions, there will be more extreme heat events to come as we move into August. And with them, more preventable heat deaths. But governments have the power to change this. As the heat turns up around the globe, we need to turn up the heat on our leaders to protect the most vulnerable among us.

There are individuals and groups in our communities who are rising to the challenge. They are doing the vital work to lay the foundation for collective action to protect renters. But with the dangers to renters getting more urgent with each passing day, they need the support of all of us to stay safe.

Add your voice to the campaigns in your area that are working to provide life-saving measures for renters during extreme heat. If you can’t find one locally, call your representative with this article in hand and demand that they support a maximum heat law in your city.

Together, we can protect our communities and ensure no one suffers and dies inside their homes this summer because they couldn’t access cool air.

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