Victoria council to consider motion to protect renters from hot temperatures 

A new motion will be introduced this week in the Victoria council chambers intended to help protect tenants from high indoor summer temperatures.

The motion, which will go to the council on Wednesday, May 14th, would see staff explore ways the City can ensure tenants are allowed to install cooling equipment like air conditioners.

It will also ensure that landlords provide a room in rental properties that does not exceed 26°C.

“Since the 2021 heat dome and the larger trend toward hotter summer temperatures, cooling in rental apartments has become an area of significant concern,” the motion states.

“The 2021 Heat Dome caused 619 deaths in British Columbia, and 18 in Greater Victoria, with many occurring in overheated homes.”

This motion was penned by Councillors Matt Dell, Dave Thompson and Jeremy Caradonna, and is being supported by the Victoria Tenants Union (VicTU).

This follows a similar bylaw being passed in New Westminster last month that requires landlords to provide tenants of multi-family rental buildings with one room that does not exceed 26°C between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

This bylaw was the first of its kind, and one that VicTU hopes will open the door for change across the country.

“Rents are already too high,” said Harland Bird, spokesperson for the VicTU.

“The right to collect that rent should at the very least require landlords to provide tenants with living spaces that are actually livable.”

Bird argues that the motion underscores how important it is for the Province to close major rent loopholes, saying that repair and maintenance expenses are being passed on to tenants through above-guideline rent increases.

The support of VicTU for this motion is conditional on it requiring landlords to install and pay for the necessary cooling systems, on its effective enforcement and on efforts to ensure that it does not translate into evictions or above-guideline rent increases.