New rule means landlords must ensure one room is below 26 degrees

The heat dome of 2021 is burned into BC’s collective memory. Rigging blankets up to block south-facing windows. Setting up beds on balconies if you were lucky enough to have one. Bowls of ice in front of fans. Or sometimes just hiding out in an underground parking garage for a few hours of relief. Temperatures were so dangerously high that 613 people died across the province, 33 of them New West residents – the highest per capita. 

The fear and helplessness from that time is a wake-up call; we’re not prepared for extreme heat. The older architecture we love about New West often lacks air conditioning or heat pumps. Some rental properties even prohibited air conditioners, or had windows that didn’t open wide enough for a breeze. As much as people look forward to summer, that anticipation is now tinged with anxiety about how hot it’s likely to get. 

And with affordable housing already so limited, many of us are literally stuck in the suffocating heat, wondering how we’ll survive another sleepless night. Unfortunately, policies that could help are slow to come. Ideas at the regional and provincial level were shot down - failing at both the Lower Mainland Local Government Association and at the Union of BC Municipalities. 

But that’s not the end of the story, at least in New West. Here, Community First Coun. Tasha Henderson and Coun. Nadine Nakagawa, proposed a practical solution in August 2023. This week it finally passed into law. (Read the CBC story here)

Property owners now have to ensure at least one room in every home can be cooled to a maximum of 26 degrees, even in extreme heat. The bylaw is unique because it puts the onus and cost on landlords rather than tenants. The landlord is free to use whatever means works for them - heat pump, AC, window shades etc. 

“Honestly, this is probably the thing I’m most proud of in my term,” said Councillor Tasha Henderson. “Nadine and I have been relentless in our commitment on this and when those avenues haven't worked, we decided to lead locally instead.”

Council also created approved three new full-time staff positions dedicated to support renters across the city, including monitoring infractions of bylaws like this. At the same time, the law gives landlords flexibility in how they provide cool zones in every rental property.

This follows a 2025 bylaw that says property owners can’t stop you from installing an air conditioner in your rental. Henderson explained, “We don’t allow property owners to rent out units without heating where people could freeze. With the extreme weather events we are seeing via climate change, we also must require cooling measures in this same way.”

Seniors, children, and other vulnerable people shouldn’t have to fear heat stroke or dehydration in their own homes. We may not be able to solve climate change on our own (yet!), but we can control what happens in our living spaces. That’s what this bylaw does. By focusing on what would actually make a difference to people’s health and comfort, Community First councillors delivered a solution that’s both practical and enforceable. One that allows all renters the rest they deserve.