By Milo Baker, Communications Intern
August 7, 2026
As Angelenos, it’s easy to become desensitized to the term “heat advisory” every time it pops up on our phone screen on a summer morning. But extreme heat presents safety issues that everybody must confront.
Renters are especially vulnerable to indoor-heat-related illness and death. This is because they often lack air conditioning in their homes, and A/C is the only effective measure for lowering indoor temperatures during periods of extreme heat.
L.A. City is currently considering adopting a safe indoor temperature policy, modeled after a similar policy currently in place for tenants in unincorporated L.A. County.
Last February, the L.A. City Council voted to consider opting into L.A. County’s Safe Indoor Temperature Ordinance. This policy, which SAJE led advocacy efforts around in the summer of 2025, establishes a maximum threshold of 82 ℉ for rental housing in unincorporated L.A. County, beginning January 2027.
But even as the days get hotter, L.A. City Council is waiting on report-backs from city departments regarding the feasibility of implementing such a policy at the city level, which would give tenants the affirmative right to install A/C. These report backs are due in September. With climate change becoming more extreme and a cooler future moving further and further away, now is the time to apply pressure and ensure that we get this ordinance passed in the City of Los Angeles.
We urge you to submit a written comment via this link to ensure our message stays loud and clear!
Submit a written comment
- Submit comment at: https://cityclerk.lacity.org/publiccomment/?cfnumber=25-1036
- The Council File number is 25-1036.
SAMPLE COMMENT
My name is [NAME], and I am a tenant in (council district #). I support the maximum indoor temperature ordinance. Extreme heat is the most deadly weather condition we face. As our climate warms, there will be more days every year where we will be exposed to dangerous and life-threatening conditions in our homes.
Share your personal experience dealing with extreme heat in your home: (examples: Extreme heat makes me feel sick and worsens my existing health conditions… I need air conditioning to stay cool but my landlord prohibited me from installing it… I need a cool home because cooling centers are far away and I have nowhere else to go during heat waves…My landlord raises my rent each year but never makes upgrades in my apartment to improve the conditions…)
Adequate cooling should be a habitability requirement in all homes just like heating is. This is not just a matter of comfort, this is a matter of health and safety.
Remember: Effective cooling is a matter of health and safety, and should be a habitability requirement for all homes in L.A.!
Submit public comment using our toolkit, and be sure to follow @SAJE_shiftpower on Instagram for more updates.
