Cooling Protections
LOS ANGELES – A tenants rights group last 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 last 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.
SAJE noted that California law requires landlords to provide heating but does not mandate in-home cooling.
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