The California Apartment Association is asking Los Angeles rental housing providers to complete a brief survey on how a proposed indoor cooling mandate could affect their buildings, costs and day-to-day operations.
The survey comes as Los Angeles officials study ordinance options modeled on Los Angeles County’s 82-degree maximum indoor temperature standard for rental housing. The city proposal could raise significant questions for housing providers, including whether existing buildings can support new cooling equipment, whether electrical systems would need upgrades, and how installation, maintenance and energy costs would be handled.
The Los Angeles City Council on Feb. 17 adopted an amended committee report directing city departments to return with options for an ordinance establishing a maximum indoor temperature threshold for rental housing units in the city. The council action also calls for stakeholder involvement, recommendations on incentive and efficiency programs, a grid-capacity analysis, and review of possible cost impacts related to cooling equipment.
Los Angeles County previously adopted an ordinance requiring covered rental units in unincorporated areas to maintain all habitable rooms at or below 82 degrees. The city motion asks departments to examine whether Los Angeles should adopt the county standard and how such a policy could be implemented locally.
CAA is seeking detailed feedback from rental housing providers so policymakers can better understand the real-world effects of any city proposal. Providers are encouraged to share information about potential retrofit costs, electrical capacity, installation feasibility, building constraints, energy use, ongoing maintenance and other operational impacts.
The association says specific examples from housing providers will help inform its advocacy as the city develops the next phase of the proposal.
Los Angeles rental housing providers can take the CAA survey and review the city’s original motion, committee report and official council action.
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