\t\t\t\t\tWhat’s at stake?<\/p>\n
As Fresno\u2019s summers get longer and hotter and apartments more expensive and competitive, there are still no maximum indoor temperature standards for apartment renters.<\/p>\n
Housing advocates and landlords geared up for another fight this week over statewide apartment cooling standards, an issue that hits home(s) in Fresno, where about half of all residents rent<\/a> and triple-digit heat is aggressively reliable.<\/p>\n \u200bCalifornia law currently requires landlords to maintain a minimum temperature of 70 degrees inside apartments during the cold months, but there are no statewide standards for renters whose apartments are too hot.<\/p>\n \u200bLast year, Los Angeles Democrat Henry Stern pushed a bill onto the governor\u2019s desk that required landlords to \u201cmaintain a safe maximum indoor temperature\u201d for renters, but the specific cap of 82 degrees was removed<\/a> and not part of the law that Gov. Gavin Newsom eventually signed.<\/p>\n \u200bBut a new state bill introduced this week by an Inglewood Democrat would reassert the 82-degree limit in apartments.<\/p>\n \u200bAssembly Bill 2616<\/a> is part of a package of housing-related proposals announced Tuesday by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor that would, in part, require landlords to provide units that can maintain a maximum indoor temperature of 82 degrees. The bill, which would take full effect in 2030 if passed, also prohibits landlords from passing on the cooling-upgrade expenses to their tenants.<\/p>\n \u200b\u201cFrom the moment someone applies for housing to the conditions they live in, we must ensure fairness, transparency and safety for residents across the state,\u201d McKinnor said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u200bMcKinnor\u2019s chief of staff, Terry Schanz, confirmed in an email to Fresnoland that AB 2616 would add the specific temperature limit to California state law.<\/p>\n \u200bCalifornia landlords have generally resisted mandatory temperature laws, frequently arguing that most property owners aren\u2019t corporate housing giants who could easily absorb a savage retrofitting bill.<\/p>\n \u200bThe California Apartment Association, the state\u2019s most influential landlord lobby, didn\u2019t take a formal position on Stern\u2019s bill last year, but told CalMatters<\/a> the law was \u201cunnecessary.\u201d The Southern California Rental Housing Association took it a step further, formally opposing the bill as overly burdensome and cost-prohibitive for property owners.<\/p>\n Landlord groups have spent millions opposing other similar laws over the years.<\/p>\n \u200bIt wasn\u2019t immediately clear whether the powerful landlord lobby would take a formal position on the new 82-degree cap proposal or the requirement that landlords bear all upgrade costs, but construction<\/a> and energy costs remain brutally high<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200bThe California Apartment Association declined to comment on the new proposal announced on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u200bIn a statement to Fresnoland, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria\u2019s office said the new indoor temperature proposal was \u201ccool.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bPress Secretary Brody Fernandez said that Soria, a lifelong Fresno resident, \u201cknows the valley\u2019s relentless heat better than most.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200b\u201cSoria has supported legislation like this in the past,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cAnything we can do in a practical and responsible way, to make houses and apartments cooler\u2014Soria\u2019s cool with.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bBut even under the best-case scenarios for Fresno-area renters, any relief is still years away and the city has not been getting any cooler.<\/p>\n \u200bFour of Fresno\u2019s last five summers have been punishing, including record-breaking heat in 2021 and 2024.<\/p>\n \u200bThe good news, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Kris Mattarochia, is that early March heat does not guarantee that we\u2019re in for a longer or hotter summer.<\/p>\n \u200bAt least by Fresno averages.<\/p>\n \u200bEven between now and the end of May, the Hanford-based meteorologist said there\u2019s still only about a \u201c50\/50 chance\u201d that we\u2019ll continue to see above-average temperatures.<\/p>\n \u200bBut March has been abnormally hot \u2014 almost 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.<\/p>\n \u200b\u201cWe\u2019ve already broken several records in Fresno for high heat this month,\u201d Mattarochia told Fresnoland.<\/p>\n