Vancouver landlords face $1,000 fine for blocking portable AC
City council unanimously approved fines for landlords restricting tenant cooling devices. Nearly 70% of Vancouver homes exceed 26°C during hot weather.
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Vancouver can now fine landlords up to $1,000 for preventing tenants from using portable air conditioning devices, following a unanimous city council vote to amend the Ticket Offences By-law.
Tenants may now install portable cooling devices in rental units where no existing air conditioning is available. Before any fines are issued, city staff will provide landlords and tenants with education materials on safe installation practices.
The rule change addresses a critical gap highlighted by the Vancouver Indoor Heat Study, a community science project that collected data between 2021 and 2023 from 4,500 homes across the Vancouver Coastal Health region. Nearly seven in 10 homes reported maximum temperatures of 26 degrees Celsius or higher during hot weather, while 13 per cent reached 31 degrees Celsius or above. In the study's final year, over half of households reported heat-related health symptoms.
The 2021 heat dome was cited as a key driver for urgency. The extreme heat event caused 619 heat-related deaths provincially, with 117 in Vancouver alone. Ninety-eight per cent of those deaths occurred indoors in spaces without adequate cooling systems.
Environment Canada's latest forecast expects 2026 to rank among the hottest years on record. The city is preparing through its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, which includes updating building codes for new residential units to maintain indoor temperatures at or below 26 degrees Celsius, cooling retrofits to civic buildings, and grants for cooling and warming rooms in single-room occupancies.