As the hot days of summer approach, two Metro Vancouver municipalities are trying to reduce the risk of extreme heat.

New Westminster councillors are celebrating a set of new bylaws that will require landlords to maintain safe temperatures in at least one room of a renter-occupied apartment, while in Vancouver, a new grant is funding cooling rooms in some supportive housing buildings.

New West Coun. Nadine Nakagawa said at a council meeting Monday she was thrilled to see the changes in her city in the wake of the 2021 heat dome and ahead of a hot summer.

“We know these heat domes are coming,” she said. “The most dangerous place shouldn’t be people’s homes.”

The changes will require landlords to keep at least one room in a rented apartment at an average temperature of 26 C or lower, measured between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., according to a staff report.

During B.C.’s 2021 heat dome, Nakagawa said, the 33 people who died in New Westminster were mainly in older rental buildings.

New West had the highest number of deaths per capita in that heat dome.

Mayor Patrick Johnstone said while a renter’s right to heat is entrenched in B.C. law to protect from cold weather, there is no equivalent for hot weather.

“[Renters] have no equal protection for living in an apartment that gets so hot that they die from it,” he said at the council meeting. 

“We don’t have people freezing to death in apartments in New Westminster. We did have people die of heat exhaustion in their apartments.”

Landlords who fail to maintain a safe indoor temperature could face a penalty of up to $750.

New West has already restricted landlords from banning cooling equipment like air conditioners.

Staff said the city has historically taken a reactive, complaint-driven approach to bylaw enforcement, but last year it included three new full-time staff positions in the budget to support tenant-related work. The new staffers will support annual rental building inspections and consistent outreach with vulnerable tenants, according to the report.

Councillors unanimously voted to support three of four necessary approvals for the bylaws.

The city will consult with the regional medical health board and issue a public notice regarding the changes to its business regulations before the bylaws return to council for final approval, according to the report.

Some New West housing advocates are praising the bylaws as important tenant protections.

Gary Rodden, co-chair of the New West chapter of B.C. Acorn, said they’re the first set of bylaws the non-profit has heard of in Canada that requires a maximum temperature to be set.

“This is great news,” he said.

He added that making sure apartments are at safe temperatures at night is important to ensure people can sleep.

“If you can’t sleep, it’s very deadly if you have a heat dome.”

Vancouver funds SRO cooling, warming retrofits

The City of Vancouver is also taking steps to protect tenants from extreme heat.

Council approved a $500,000 grant to the Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society non-profit to upgrade six privately owned SROs (single-room occupancy housing).

Staff said in a report that the need for heat adaptation measures in SROs is critically needed, as studies have shown temperatures in SROs exceed average levels during heat events, “compounding already poor living conditions for a highly vulnerable population.”

The grant project aims to create new cooling rooms, which will also function as winter warming rooms.

The upgrades will include heat pumps, water filtration systems and basic renovations, according to the report.

In the last three years, the non-profit has driven extreme-heat initiatives such as weekly indoor temperature mapping and distributing cooling kits across more than 30 privately owned SROs.