Climate change is making more California homes dangerously hot. It's time state laws caught up

Whether you rent or own in California, your home is required to have a functional heating system capable of keeping temperatures at least 70 degrees. But there is no requirement for cooling equipment to keep your home from becoming dangerously hot. Landlords have no obligation to provide air conditioners, swamp coolers or anything to keep rental units safe for occupants during heat waves. That might have been understandable decades ago.

But it would defeat the purpose of the standard, which is to save lives and protect the most vulnerable communities, whose less-shaded neighborhoods and older, less-insulated housing magnify their risks from extreme heat. Instead of setting a temperature limit, the department makes other suggestions for existing units, such as policies to ensure renters at high risk for heat-related illness have the right to add cooling equipment and can afford to operate it.

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