SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane renters’ now have a new legal right to cooling after the City Council passed the Renters’ Right to Cooling Ordinance Wednesday.
The law requires landlords to provide air conditioning in at least one room of rental properties. If a tenant requests a cooling unit, the landlord has three days to provide one. If the landlord fails to comply, tenants can purchase a cooling unit themselves and deduct up to $500 from their next month’s rent.
The ordinance also says that a tenant can terminate the rental agreement, if the landlord doesn’t comply in three days.
Gonzaga’s Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment is already fielding questions from tenants about the new law. The institute is working with the Washington State Tenants Union to provide guidance and support.
Dante Jester, Climate Resilience Program Manager at Gonzaga’s Climate institute, outlined the organization’s approach to helping renters navigate the new requirement. “The hope is that they can just reach out to their landlord. And their landlord in good faith would be like, oh, you need cooling, I will do that,” Jester said. “If the tenant needs to take initiative themselves, we’re trying to provide them with a set of educational materials.”
The organizations plan to complete a resource pamphlet in about a week that will be uploaded to their website. The pamphlet will include information about where to purchase cooling units, available services to help with installation, and even a template letter renters’ can use when making requests to their landlords.
For renters seeking additional guidance, the Washington State Tenants Union is also available to answer questions.
The Renters Housing Association of Washington, which represents approximately 600 landlords in Spokane, has acknowledged the new requirement. While the organization expressed some concerns about the legislation, they indicated willingness to work with property owners to ensure compliance.
Kevin Schilling, Government Affairs Director for the Renters Housing Association of Washington, says they will continue to work with the city. “We want to continue to work with the city of Spokane. There is no money associated with this piece of legislation. The city of Spokane has not created a funding mechanism for small landlords to comply with this rule,” Schilling said.
The law also states that starting January 1st, 2032, each bedroom in a rental unit must have cooling equipment. This amendment added another year than the previous 2031 deadline for landlords.
Schilling acknowledged that the ordinance provides landlords with time to implement the requirement. “It’s a good thing that folks have until 2032. I mean, we got five years to implement this and get every single apartment in Spokane fit with adequate cooling. That’s great. But we need the city of Spokane, and we need utility partners at the state to fully fund this operation,” he said.
The association indicated they are willing to answer questions from landlords about how to comply with the new law.
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