New ACORN Report Exposes Hidden Cost of Climate Crisis for Tenants

May 28, 2025 – ACORN Canada has just released a powerful new report: Crumbling Apartments in a Warming World: Tenants in an Energy Cost Crisis. Based on a national survey of over 700 tenants, the report reveals how low- and moderate-income renters are being left to shoulder the cost of the climate crisis without the protections they deserve.

With record-breaking heat waves and aging buildings, tenants are being forced to live in unsafe conditions while watching their rents climb. 44% of tenants surveyed said they had no access to air conditioning, and 67% are paying out of pocket for utilities, often in poorly insulated buildings where every degree of comfort comes at a steep cost.

“Low- and moderate-income tenants are being crushed by climate costs, rent hikes, and skyrocketing energy bills. And it’s getting worse every year. The cost of energy crisis is being pushed to low- and moderate-income tenants. This needs to stop. It’s time for all levels of government to step up. If public funds are going to landlords for green retrofits, they must come with protections that give tenants security in leaving their homes. If public funds are going to power corporations, tenants must see transparency and evidence as to how those subsidies are keeping costs lower for tenants. We need national standards and subsidy programs to ensure energy is affordable, homes are safe, and tenants aren’t left in the cold, or the heat.”
— Nichola Taylor, ACORN National Board Representative and Chair of New Brunswick ACORN

The federal government is investing billions in green retrofits—but without strong tenant protections, those retrofits become another excuse for landlords to increase rents or push people out. Only 19% of tenants reported seeing any energy efficiency upgrades in their building, and of those, a third received rent increases as a result.

ACORN’s message is clear: tenants should not be punished for climate action.

What Tenants Are Demanding:

• Mandatory cooling requirements in all federally funded retrofits

• Anti-eviction and affordability covenants tied to public retrofit funding

• Formal tenant participation in all green retrofit planning

• Energy Poverty Programs expanded and made universal

• Mandatory Building Performance Standards with real accountability

Climate change is a crisis—but for tenants, it’s also a rent hike. We’re calling on all levels of government to make climate policy that protects tenants, not profits. We can’t afford to let landlords turn green upgrades into cash grabs.

Read ACORNs full report here: “Crumbling Apartments in a Warming World: Tenants are in an Energy Cost Crisis”