Hamilton council approves maximum heat bylaw pilot project for Ward 2

Hamilton city council has approved a pilot project that will require landlords in Ward 2 to keep rental units at a maximum temperature of 26 C during the summer.

From May 15 to Sept. 15, landlords will now have to keep at least part of units at a max temperature of 26 C.

Under the bylaw, the maximum temperature will apply 24 hours a day.

They’ll be allowed to make the change by retrofitting their buildings, or providing air conditioning units.

“For everyone in Ward 2, that’s good, this is good for them,” said Kayla Leet, ACORN Hamilton’s east end chair, “but everyone else in the city, we’re going to be baking while we wait.”

WATCH MORE: Local groups frustrated with City of Hamilton over delays in maximum heat bylaw

Council voted down proposed amendments that would have expanded the maximum heat requirement city-wide immediately.

The pilot follows years of calls from local advocates for stronger protections for tenants during periods of extreme heat.

Environment Hamilton and Acorn have been pushing the city to implement a maximum heat bylaw. In September, the groups criticized continued delays and called on council to approve the measure before another hot summer.

“Our initial reaction is that this is a good first step,” said Marc Davignon, the co-chair of ACORN Hamilton downtown chapter. “It took a long time — it took 1,200 days, it took 4 summers, but the council showed a modicum of courage in passing the first 24 hour max heat bylaw in the country.”

WATCH MORE: Hamilton Mayor Horwath’s tariff-response plan heads to city council after gaining GIC support

Advocates have argued that protection from extreme indoor heat is a basic necessity and not a luxury.

ACORN would like to see the program expanded, something that Ward 2 Counc. Cameron Kroetsch pitched to the council, but was shot down.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t use hard dates — May 15th to Sept. 15 — ’cause we know heat happens outside of that,” said Kroetsch. “We wanted to say that it shouldn’t be a pilot, we wanted to make sure it was city-wide. Those are the things that the amendments tried to address. Unfortunately they didn’t pass, but we got the pilot that the staff proposed passed today.”

Landlords will have to comply with the new requirement by June 1, 2027, which also comes with a price tag of just over $1 million, be allocated in 2027 and 2028 budgets, to be decided by the next council.

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, who is currently running for re-election, voted in favour of the pilot, while mayoral candidate and Ward 8 Counc. Rob Cooper voted no.

WATCH MORE: Local groups frustrated with City of Hamilton over delays in maximum heat bylaw