ACORN Hamilton and allies fight for a max heat bylaw

Hamilton, ON— ACORN Hamilton and our allies delegated once again at the Planning Committee in support of the City of Hamilton protecting tenants from extreme heat. 

In Spring 2023, Council unanimously approved a motion for the city to develop and implement a maximum heat bylaw. In a small step forward the city has strengthened it’s current property standards to add a bit more teeth where landlord’s provide cooling. Moving forward landlord’s that provide cooling will have to ensure suites have a max indoor temperature of 26°C. This change does not impact units where tenants are responsible for purchasing and running their own air conditioners. 

ACORN members Pauline and Kayla along with our allies Canadian Environmental Law Association and the Hamilton Community Benefits network delegated to the committee on September 9th in support of the property standards improvements but urged the city to move forward with a max heat bylaw. 

Staff acknowledged the significant delay in any progress since 2023 and committed to start working on it.