LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A new measure working its way through the Los Angeles City Council is looking to protect city renters from rising temperatures in the summer months.
The measure would require landlords to make sure their rental units don’t reach temperatures higher than 82 degrees during the summer months.
“It’s not just about being comfortable, it’s about being safe,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who supports the measure.
The only temperature-related law L.A. landlords face right now requires them to keep things warm in the winter.
“Extreme heat is one of the deadliest climate threats that we face,” Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said. “And yet, in 2025, our laws say a landlord has to provide heat in the winter but nothing to keep people cool in the summer.”
The new measure would require landlords to install air conditioners, fans or other types of cooling equipment.
It’s based on a law the L.A. County Board of Supervisors passed just last month.
“It requires rental units to be kept at or below 82 degrees Fahrenheit because research has demonstrated that anything higher than that is very dangerous and even deadly,” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said.
That effort though took about two years, says Solis. The city is hoping to move faster and points to recent extreme heat waves as the reason.
“Just this last weekend, every day in the west Valley was over 100,” Blumenfield said. “With temperatures continuing to rise with global warming, we have to realize that we need to do something, and we need to protect Angelenos.”
The L.A. County law is already in effect, but won’t be enforced until the beginning of next year.
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