Press Hits

With summer heatwaves on the way, tenant advocacy group London ACORN held a rally outside city hall. ACORN Canada recently surveyed 750 tenants across the country about summer heat and related building maintenance. It found that 44 per cent of the low and moderate-income respondents lack access to air conditioning. The cost of energy was the most common reason. “Having A/C in each unit, that is controlled by the tenant, is incredibly important,” said Farrah Sherrard, Secretary of the London-at-Large Chapter. “That is something that the landlord needs to do, but in addition, we need regulations that put that cost onto the landlord without having that impact the tenants in terms of AGI’s (Above Guideline Increases) or other expenses.”

Environment Canada is warning of a daylong hot spell in much of B.C., with projected temperatures between 5 C and 12 C above normal for many areas. ACORN Canada national representative Nichola Taylor joins the show to discuss how the organization is advocating for hot weather protections for low and moderate income renters.

A Canadian tenant advocacy group says nearly half the renters they surveyed don’t have air conditioning, as they press for protections from climate-fuelled extreme heat. A report released by ACORN Canada says affordability was cited as the main barrier to access among the 44 per cent of surveyed tenants who don’t have air conditioning. The group says it collected more than 700 responses to the online survey, which was sent to its database of members and tenant contacts. The report says just over half of respondents, mostly low- and middle-income renters, identified excessive summer heat as a top maintenance issue for their unit. ACORN Canada has been pushing cities to bring in bylaws that would require landlords to keep their units below a maximum temperature threshold, similar to how they have to keep it heated when it’s cold. “The weather and climate is changing and so we need to be prepared. We need to have an apartment that is healthy,” said Alejandra Ruiz Vargas, the group’s national president.

Economic justice advocates protested energy costs and unsafe living conditions in B.C. and across Canada this week as hot summer months approach. A new national report by ACORN Canada shows that 44 per cent of low- and moderate-income tenants lack access to air conditioning, with the cost of energy being named as the primary cause. The report comes as B.C.’s South Coast experienced temperatures as high as 30 degrees on Wednesday. BC ACORN is calling on BC Hydro to cut red tape limiting who can access its free portable air conditioner program. “If they just go back to what they had and say a landlord should not be the person that permits somebody to have a healthy home where the temperature can be livable for them,” said Monica Bhandari, chair of the New Westminster ACORN chapter.

A Hamilton tenant says she’s impressed with a “fantastic” judge’s recent decision to fine her former landlord $100,000 for illegally renovicting her and three other tenants, even if they’ll never get their homes back. “That’s a good place to start to show the landlords of Ontario they can’t just throw their tenants out,” Darlene Wesley told CBC Hamilton. She said she left her place in 2023 thinking she’d definitely be coming back as she took all the steps she was supposed to. She joined tenant advocacy group ACORN, which supported her throughout the process.

About 44 per cent of low- and moderate-income tenants in Canada lack access to air conditioning, according to a new survey, with cost cited as the most common barrier. National tenant union ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) published the report “Crumbling Apartments in a Warming World: Tenants in an Energy Cost Crisis” on Wednesday, based on a survey of 737 renters across the country. According to the report, 46 per cent of respondents who didn’t have air conditioning said they didn’t have it because it is too expensive. Christena Abbott, an East York ACORN leader, said seniors are often the most vulnerable to heat-related issues as they may have health issues but also limitations of a fixed income. “They consider air conditioning a luxury,” she said. ACORN said it is calling for national standards on cooling access and heat bylaws. It also believes there should be energy poverty programs — such as ones to provide financial support toward some renters’ hydro bills — and retrofit accountability.