The City of Hamilton is currently considering the implementation of a new “Maximum/Adequate Temperature By-law” that would require landlords to provide either central air conditioning or window units.
In May 2023, Hamilton City Council directed staff to explore potential options for a by-law, which would impose a maximum indoor temperature of 26°C in rental units.
It is unclear why it has taken staff almost three years to get back to City Council.
In September 2025, Council passed a similar law that requires landlords to ensure that rental units do not exceed 26°C, but only if air conditioning is stipulated in lease documents.
That bylaw requires that landlords ensure proper operation of air conditioning units, with officials able to issue orders to have air conditioning repaired if it is not working properly.
If landlords fail to comply with that bylaw then the city can contract out the repair work and add the cost to the property owner’s tax payments.
However, the new “Maximum/Adequate Temperature By-law” would require all landlords to install air conditioning, regardless of whether or not it is promised in the lease.
The city says that their “Climate Science Report has predicted that the number of consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 30°C will increase and that heat waves will be more frequent.”
“Research has identified increases in the likelihood of temperature-related deaths with future climate change impacts and the need for urgent action,” staff continue.
The City of Hamilton is currently receiving feedback from both tenants and landlords until Feb. 2, 2026, through their Engage Hamilton site. The surveys can be accessed here.
The implementation of a new by-law is also expected to come with associated staffing costs.
There are approximately 72,000 rental households in the City of Hamilton.
City staff are expected to come back with a recommendation report, implementation plan, and resource needs before this summer.
The bylaw would be enforced only in the summer months, between May 15 and Sept. 15.
However, Daniel Chin, the President of the Hamilton and District Apartment Association, issued warnings about a potential bylaw in a Hamilton Spectator column published Sept. 9, 2025.
Chin wrote, “While the goal of protecting tenants from extreme indoor heat is understandable, the proposed maximum heat bylaw poses significant practical, financial, and legal challenges that demand careful consideration.”
He added that many rental buildings, particularly older ones, “lack central air conditioning and were never designed to support modern HVAC systems or the electrical load of multiple portable units.”
Chin warns that the bylaw will result in a shrinking rental market and that it will worsen affordability.
Instead, he suggests that the city focus on targeted financial support to assist landlords with heat mitigation upgrades, energy-efficiency programs, better education for tenants on heat reduction strategies, and investment in community cooling centres and better tree coverage for shade.
It remains to be seen what feedback the city receives and what will be included in the final staff report on the matter.
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.
