A mandate to keep LA apartments cool? City Council to consider proposal to follow LA County's lead

The city of Los Angeles could consider landmark rules requiring landlords to help keep renters cool under a new motion submitted on Wednesday.

City Council members Eunisses Hernandez, Bob Blumenfield and Adrin Nazarian introduced the motion asking city officials to look into establishing a so-called "heat threshold" of 82 degrees for L.A.'s rental units.

L.A. County passed a cooling mandate for rental units in unincorporated areas in August after years of planning. City Council members want L.A. to follow suit and adopt the county's policy.

" By passing their ordinance, L.A. County supervisors have set a clear, enforceable standard for unincorporated Los Angeles County," Nazarian said at a news conference on Wednesday. "We should do the same here in the city of Los Angeles."

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The heat threshold is a response to rising heat-related deaths driven by climate change, and concern about the health of tenants who endure L.A.'s hot summers with no air conditioning. Extreme heat is the No. 1 cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S.

The city currently requires property owners to provide equipment to keep apartments warm in the winter, but no such requirements for cooling in the summer months.

The council members announced the effort on a scorching 92-degree day.

"We wanted to show you what it looks like to be sweating, so you can imagine what our tenants have to go through here in the city of L.A. in their own homes," Hernandez said.

She added that in her district, CD-1, she has visited apartment units with internal temperatures of more than 90 degrees.

The City Council is likely to face pushback from landlords, who opposed the county ordinance, saying it was a major financial burden. Tenant advocates say a heat threshold is the least public officials can do to protect tenants living in dangerous conditions.

The county mandate requires landlords to outfit homes to stay at or below 82 degrees, but stops short of defining how to achieve that metric. It is not an air conditioning requirement.

Property owners can also use methods like heat pumps, cool roofs, insulation and shade — so long as they meet the temperature threshold, according to a report by the county Department of Public Health. But county officials have previously acknowledged that in hotter regions, AC may be necessary to hit that threshold.

The county's new rules go into effect this month, but enforcement won't start until 2027. The timeline for any citywide requirement will depend on the City Council.

A City Council has not immediately scheduled a date to hear and consider the proposal.