In a groundbreaking move, Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors is set to vote next month on an ordinance that aims to establish heat safety regulations for rental properties.
If approved, landlords will be required to ensure that indoor temperatures in rental units do not exceed 82 degrees during the sweltering summer months.
This ordinance comes on the heels of a years-long discussion about the critical need for heat regulations, as the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves raise significant public health concerns.
Currently, while state law mandates that property owners provide heating appliances to keep tenants warm, there are no corresponding laws to ensure cooling protections during extreme heat events.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, a driving force behind the proposed ordinance, highlighted the urgent need for such measures, particularly for vulnerable populations like older adults.
“Indoor heat is deadly,” Horvath stated, emphasizing that tenants often lack the legal recourse to address inadequate cooling in their homes.
The proposed temperature threshold is not so restrictive as requiring air conditioning for rental units.
Instead, landlords can meet the criteria using various methods like heat pumps, cool roofs, insulation, and shade options, as long as they keep temperatures at or below the designated limit.
This approach contrasts sharply with stricter regulations found in cities like Palm Springs, where property owners are legally obliged to maintain indoor temperatures at or below 80 degrees with air conditioning systems.
Additionally, the ordinance would grant tenants the right to install their own air conditioning systems without landlord interference, addressing concerns raised by past reports of tenants facing backlash for attempting such installations.
Chelsea Kirk, who contributed to a recent study by Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) that examined the issue of air conditioning and renters, expressed her cautious optimism about the proposed ordinance.
While she supports the initiative, Kirk criticized it for lacking enforcement provisions that would ensure genuine changes for renters.
“It has no enforcement teeth,” she pointed out.
Meanwhile, landlord organizations are voicing their opposition, arguing that such regulations would impose significant financial burdens on property owners.
If the ordinance passes, its enforcement is not expected to commence until 2027, allowing landlords ample time to adapt to the new requirements.
Enforcement will primarily rely on tenant complaints, with renters being assigned investigators from the health department’s newly established Rental Housing Habitability Program.
This program is designed to inspect rental units in unincorporated L.A. County every four years.
In discussing the implementation of the ordinance, Supervisor Horvath acknowledged the inherent challenges of enforcing a heat threshold but emphasized the importance of community involvement.
“We don’t have public health officials in every building at every moment of any day, so that’s a challenge,” she admitted.
Horvath believes that establishing such an ordinance helps elevate tenants’ expectations for safe living conditions and empowers residents to advocate for their rights in the face of extreme heat.
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