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Los Angeles landlords may soon be required to keep rental units cool — or at least make it possible for tenants to do so.
County supervisors last month passed a law requiring landlords in unincorporated areas to provide a way to keep their rental units at 82 degrees or below. A measure introduced Wednesday in the Los Angeles City Council directs officials to draft language conforming to the same standards.
That comes as climate change ratchets up the frequency and intensity of heat waves. Extreme heat already kills more people in the United States each year than any other weather-related event, according to the National Weather Service.
Sustained indoor heat above 82 degrees has been linked to increased emergency-room visits, hospitalizations and deaths, according to a news release from Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield and Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the measure along with Councilmember Adrin Nazarian.
“It’s a health issue, first and foremost,” said Nazarian, who pointed out that the effects of extreme heat fall disproportionately on vulnerable populations like those who are chronically ill. Older residents are much more susceptible to dying from heat or related complications, he said. And poorer people are more likely to live in aging buildings without duct systems or air conditioning units. “It’s critical for us to take steps so that we’re protecting our residents.”
The California Department of Housing and Community Development earlier this year urged lawmakers to adopt the 82-degree maximum temperature threshold statewide. State law already requires rental units to include equipment that can heat the unit to at least 70 degrees.
“Why should cooling be any different?” asked Blumenfield, who represents the hottest part of the city — his 3rd District covers much of the southwestern San Fernando Valley. Last year Woodland Hills, where Blumenfield also lives, hit 121 degrees — the highest temperature ever recorded in Los Angeles. “We always have heat strokes go up and all sorts of health related issues happen when it gets really hot,” he said.
The intention of the proposed measure is to hew as closely to the county regulations as possible, including provisions that provide flexibility to small landlords, Blumenfield said. For instance, the county rules allow landlords who own 10 or fewer units to meet the temperature requirement for just one room until 2032. And while the law took effect this month, it won’t be enforced until 2027.
The measure will take some time to draft and be heard by various committees but could come up for a vote before the full council in a matter of months, Blumenfield said.
If it passes, Los Angeles would join a growing list of cities that have adopted maximum temperature thresholds for rentals. In Phoenix, units with air conditioning must be able to maintain a temperature of 82 degrees or below. In Clark County, Nev., units must be able to stay at 85 degrees or cooler. In Palm Springs, units need to have air conditioning and be able to maintain 80 degrees. Dallas requires landlords to keep buildings at least 15 degrees cooler than the outside temperature but no higher than 85 degrees, and New Orleans requires units to be able to maintain a maximum temperature of 80 degrees in all bedrooms.
The Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles was adamantly opposed to the measure, saying it would drive up the cost of housing and ultimately lead to higher rents.
It’s difficult to maintain a unit at 82 degrees without using an air conditioner, which can be costly to both landlords — who may need to upgrade buildings’ electrical service — and tenants, who must pay for utility bills, according to Daniel Yukelson, the group’s chief executive and executive director.
“Any cooling device will be ineffective if too expensive to operate because renters cannot afford the electricity,” he wrote in an email. “It’s like prescribing medication with a co-pay that is too high for a patient to refill.”
Yukelson also questioned whether the electrical grid can accommodate the additional load, saying that customers are already subjected to blackouts and brownouts during the summer.
Nazarian and Blumenfield both pointed out that the law does not require air conditioning, and said units could be kept cool with other interventions, including cool roof technology and window tinting. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also offers rebates to help certain customers purchase air conditioners, Nazarian said.
Grace Hut, assistant director of policy and advocacy for tenants’ rights group Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, said her organization has spoken with many renters whose landlords have actively prohibited them from installing air conditioner units. While she understands concerns about utility prices, tenants ultimately want to be able to choose for themselves whether or not to turn on an air conditioner and shoulder the higher electricity costs, she said.
“On extreme heat days, access to air conditioning can be a matter of life and death, and they should have the option to use it,” she said.
The city should also dedicate resources to enforcing the temperature-threshold rules and to helping tenants afford their utility bills to lessen the burden, she added.
“Climate change is only going to continue to exacerbate this issue so it’s really important that we take action immediately,” she said.
Last year was the warmest on record globally, and temperatures are projected to continue to rise. In 2022, a Times investigation revealed that heat probably caused about 3,900 deaths in California over the previous decade — six times the state’s official tally — and that the undercounting has contributed to a lack of urgency in confronting the crisis.
Times staff writer Rebecca Ellis contributed to this report
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Alex Wigglesworth
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