Toronto Renters Forum
Common Tenant Problems => Air Conditioners => Topic started by: Creepella on August 19, 2022, 10:21:42 pm
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The OHRC has declared access to air conditioning a human rights issue. They are also calling for the Residential Tenancies Act to be updated to include a provincial maximum temperature for all apartments and declare air conditioning to be a vital service, just as they do for heating as a vital service with a minimum temperature.
"Recent media reports point to a concerning trend of housing providers denying tenants’ ability to install air conditioning units and threatening rent increases or eviction, or both, if they do so. Any situation where a housing provider issues a complete ban on air conditioners and cooling devices without exceptions likely violates the Code and could lead to a human rights complaint.
As the number of extreme heat waves increases, the right to accessible, adequate and safe housing should include air conditioning. Landlords and housing providers should remove blanket bans on air conditioners and cooling devices. Any policies that prohibit these products must contain human rights-based exemptions and reflect the duty to accommodate."
"The Ontario Human Rights Commission calls on the Government of Ontario to include air conditioning as a vital service, like the provision of heat, under RTA regulations and to establish a provincial maximum temperature to make sure that vulnerable Code-protected tenants are protected against threats of eviction for using safely installed air conditioning units.
Extreme heat caused by climate change is killing people from Code-protected groups disproportionately and will continue to get worse. A human rights-based approach to air conditioning/cooling is required to make sure all Ontarians have accessible, adequate and safe housing."
Now that the OHRC has acknowledged that air conditioning is a human right, it's good news for people fighting their landlords for the right to install and use air conditioners without harassment and demands for illegal fees. These people can now file a human rights complaint, especially if they have a disability or health condition which is made worse by heat. I'm guessing it would take a lot less time to file with OHRC than trying to file a T2 and wait a year for a landlord biased hearing at the housing tribunal.
https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/news_centre/ohrc-statement-human-rights-extreme-heat-waves-and-air-conditioning