Calgary renters push for maximum heat rules as indoor temperatures soar

A group of Calgarians are pushing the city to develop a maximum heat bylaw as temperatures rise once again.

Tenant’s union ACORN organized a day of action in the Beltline on Tuesday.

Dozens of people — most stood in the shade of the community’s aging apartments — protested the city’s “antiquated” tenant laws.

They argue skyrocketing temperatures outside have bled into their living spaces, and landlords have been unwilling to provide proper cool-down measures.

“We want a ceiling of temperature in apartments for 26 degrees,” ACORN advocate Abi Martin said. “That is ideal for people, especially those who may be struggling with mental or physical health problems, disabilities or elderly people.”

Currently, there are no laws municipally or provincially stating temperatures should not exceed a maximum.

But Alberta’s Minimum Housing and Health Standards states that “during the winter … the furnace must keep up a temperature of at least 16 degrees Celsius.”

Martin lives inside the Birkenshaw Apartment building along 13 Ave. S.W.

She says her unit regularly exceeds 30 degrees.

“I get shaky, I’m dizzy, nauseous and I can’t eat,” she told CTV News.

“And I can’t even use my (air conditioning) unless I pay a $200 fee just to install it, and then $70 a month to use (it).”

In an emailed statement, Birkenshaw Apartment owner, Homestead Land Holdings, said it sympathizes with residents who are experiencing higher temperatures in their homes during the heat wave.

“The Birkenshaw, like most of the buildings of its era, was not constructed with in-suite air conditioning,” Michael Terkalas, Homestead Land Holdings operations vice-president, said in the statement.

“For residents who wish to have cooling in their suite, portable floor standing air conditioning units are an effective way for residents to achieve this.”

The day of action isn’t the first of its kind in Canada.

Toronto tenants who are suffering in a hot apartment can file an application against their landlord at the Landlord and Tenant Board for “interference with reasonable enjoyment.”

And Hamilton, Ont., has municipally seen some progress on the cooling front, according to ACORN.

But in Calgary, the organization says no one politician or ruling has helped.

That’s tough news for many of the roughly 155,060 renter households — or 31 per cent of all dwellings — in the city.

And the warming climate isn’t helping matters.

“The last heat wave that we just experienced was really challenging on our family,” Bankview resident Jared Blustein said.

“Our kids did not sleep at all and we spent a lot of the night with fans and cold cloths trying to just keep them cool. They were up crying throughout most of the night and it was really challenging, obviously.

“We need to do what we have to protect our citizens here in the city.”