The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday required all residential rental units in unincorporated areas to have a maximum indoor temperature of 82 degrees.
The ordinance, which passed on a 4-0 vote with Supervisor Kathryn Barger absent, also requires landlords to allow tenants to install portable cooling devices and other methods to control the temperature in rental units, including air-conditioners, fans and blackout curtains. That requirement is expected to take effect in 30 days, but enforcement of the overall 82-degree maximum temperature requirement will not begin until Jan. 1, 2027.
“We know that extreme heat is not just uncomfortable. It is deadly,” Supervisor Hilda Solis, who introduced the motion to amend the county’s Health and Safety Code, said in a statement. “As climate change accelerates, our communities are on the front lines of intensifying heat waves. This ordinance is a critical, life-saving policy that prioritizes the health and dignity of renters, many of whom are children, older adults, people with disabilities and immigrant working families living in aging buildings without cooling.”…