A new by-law would likely require landlords to ensure that temperatures in rental units do not exceed 26°C. Photo Credit: Wikipedia.
A motion brought forward in 2023 by City of Hamilton Councillor Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton) could see the municipality require landlords to provide air conditioning to their tenants.
The motion directs staff to develop a by-law and refers various costs to the 2024 Tax Supported Operating Budget process.
Kroetsch’s motion was supported unanimously by the City’s Public Health Committee, which means that Council could be voting on the actual implementation of such a by-law in 2024.
The motion was seconded by Councillor Tammy Hwang (Ward 4 – Hamilton East).
The document notes that the city already has an Adequate Heat By-law for the winter months and that extreme heat during summer months is also harmful.
Kroetsch also noted that some people have died “from the impacts of extreme heat indoors because they didn’t have access to cooling.”
This includes incidents in Chicago (1995), Quebec (2018), British Columbia (2021), and Paris (2003, 2022).
The implementation of a new by-law would also come with various associated costs which have been referred to the 2024 budget process.
Those costs include providing salaries for four full-time positions and one part-time position within the Licensing and By-law Services Division of the city.
That includes one new full-time Manager, a new full-time Senior Project Manager, a full-time Municipal Law Enforcement Supervisor, a full-time Municipal Law Enforcement Officer, and a part-time Legal Services position.
Kroestch also wants staff to create a Municipal By-law Review and Development project and potentially a municipal program to support low-income tenants with the costs associated with running air conditioning.
The motion asks staff to refer $100,000 to the 2024 budget process for the creation of a Municipal By-law Review and Development project “with a purpose to undertake research, community engagement and leverage external expertise for the development of new city by-laws.”
Staff were also directed to report back on the feasibility of tracking “heat-related deaths and illnesses in Hamilton” going forward.
Kroetsch’s motion appears to be directly in response to 2022 demands issued by a tenant advocacy group known as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
The group staged demonstrations at city hall after launching its “Beat the Heat” campaign, which demanded that the city implement “a maximum heat by-law for rental housing.”
ACORN also demanded that the city support retrofits of rental housing, expand measures to keep residents cool when outside, such as installing more water fountains and increasing tree coverage, and track heat-related deaths and illnesses.
A new by-law would likely require landlords to ensure that temperatures in their rental units do not exceed 26°C (78.8°F).
If approved, landlords would have to provide either central air conditioning or window air conditioning units.
Some councillors voiced concerns that the by-law would result in landlords installing air conditioning and then passing on the cost to renters, making housing even more unaffordable.
Nevertheless, the exact impact of a by-law remains to be seen and the final decision itself would still have to be approved by Council.
Further debate on the matter is still to come in 2024.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
