As Climate Change Heats LA, Advocates Push For Better Air Conditioning Access

LOS ANGELES, CA — A tenants rights group Tuesday called for stronger protections to ensure renters have access to air conditioning, warning that extreme indoor heat poses serious health risks.

Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) released a report Tuesday, with climate scientists predicting Los Angeles will face three times as many days over 95 degrees in the next decade. The group said many rental units lack air conditioning, leaving residents especially vulnerable to heat-related illness or death.

"During heat waves, access to air conditioning is a matter of life and death. Our research found air conditioning is the only effective measure for lowering indoor temperatures during extreme heat events," Chelsea Kirk, SAJE director of policy and advocacy, and author of the report, said in a statement.

The 38-page report, "A Renters' Right to Cooling: Addressing Extreme Heat in Rental Housing," includes firsthand accounts from South Los Angeles renters who said they feel afraid to request air conditioning for fear of rent increases, harassment or eviction. Some reported landlords outright banning air conditioning units.

"I have been suffering in the heat for 26 years," South L.A. renter Teresa Marquez said in a statement. "My landlord won't let me install an air- conditioning unit because he does not want to damage the walls."

Prolonged exposure to heat can increase the risk of heat stroke, organ failure and death.

"Extreme indoor heat isn't just a climate issue — it's a public health issue," Edith de Guzman, an environmental researcher with the UC Cooperative Extension based at UCLA, said in a statement. "The effects of unsafe indoor heat are not hypothetical — we all know what it's like to live through a heat wave. It affects everything: your ability to work, cook, sleep and even breathe."

SAJE noted that California law requires landlords to provide heating but does not mandate in-home cooling.

"At the very least, tenants should have a legally protected right to install and operate air-conditioning units in their homes," Kirk added. "Ideally, Los Angeles should require landlords to provide air conditioning in rental housing the same way we require them to provide heat."

Southern California is expected to experience a mini heat wave starting Tuesday. It's expected to peak Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a weekend cooling.

Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, said that state and local officials are considering proposals to require rental properties to be "cooling ready" or include some form of cooling equipment.

Yukelson told City News Service in an email that the L.A. County Board of Supervisors has discussed setting a maximum indoor temperature limit of 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

"As housing providers, we always strive to ensure the safety and comfort of our residents, who are our customers," Yukelson wrote in his email. "However, at this time, we could not support a policy unless adequate financial assistance is provided and alternative solutions be considered."

For housing providers, this issue comes down to costs, he added. According to Yukelson, housing providers are "not able to afford yet another potentially costly government mandate," citing recent moratoriums on evictions and rent increases, and balancing other financial concerns such as seismic retrofitting, balcony inspections, inflation, covering insurance, among other things.

Older buildings may require significant electrical upgrades, he noted. Government subsidies — such as financial grants, tax breaks, or low-cost financing — or passing some of the costs onto renters could help ease the burden on housing providers, Yukelson added.

Additionally, he said, there are other factors to consider. As state and local governments push to address climate change, new mandates are promoting green infrastructure such as solar, wind and electric-powered technologies.

"Lastly, as they say, there are many other ways to `skin a cat,' and solutions such as window coverings, ceiling fans, setting up more cooling centers, and in-room cooling units, may be options," Yukelson told CNS.

City News Service