City Council to reconsider proposal requiring landlords to provide cooling for tenants

An Albuquerque city councilor is bringing back her proposal to require landlords to install cooling systems for tenants after it was shot down in a City Council committee — this time to be considered by the full council. 

Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn’s proposal would amend the city’s housing code to require cooling systems for residential rental properties. The code currently only requires heating capabilities, but Fiebelkorn’s proposal says cooling is essential with increasing temperatures, which can cause serious health issues. 

“[Cooling] is a basic human right,” Fiebelkorn said. “We have people in our community who are suffering…They’re also facing medical problems because of this oversight in our laws that are really old and need to be upgraded. I am not willing to give up on that, because a few councilors were unwilling to have the conversation about it.” 

After hearing from her constituents during the summer who said their homes were too hot, Fiebelkorn called the city’s code enforcement and was shocked to learn there is no requirement for providing cooling. She said there is “no denying” the city is experiencing hotter, longer-lasting temperatures. 

“They’re living in apartments or in single-family homes, and they’re just baking inside of these places,” Fiebelkorn said. “We need to make sure that we’re taking care of some of our most vulnerable, low-income residents, who are facing some pretty serious health impacts of it being 100 degrees inside their home.” 

During the Finance and Government Operations Committee’s (FGO) Nov. 25 meeting, some councilors disagreed with certain provisions and sent it to the full council with a “do not pass” recommendation. But during the council’s Dec. 2 meeting, Fiebelkorn successfully revived the bill to be voted on during the Dec. 16 meeting. 

During the November committee meeting, Councilor Dan Champine said he was concerned there would be an increased electrical cost to tenants and cause an “unforeseen burden on the renter.” Fiebelkorn countered by saying running water costs money but “we do not use the fact that people have to pay for running water as an excuse to not provide it for them.” 

The bill originally proposed only rental properties would be required to provide cooling, but the committee approved an amendment to require it for all housing units. Fiebelkorn said she was not against the change but is “not super worried about someone who can afford to buy a house.” 

“I think that’s a very different situation than low-income renters,” Fiebelkorn said. “What I am interested in is helping tenants who have excessive heat in their homes. That’s my only goal.” 

There was also some confusion about the bill not permitting evaporative coolers, which Fiebelkorn said is not the case, and the intention is to ensure each rental unit has some sort of permanent cooling system. 

Fiebelkorn said she was “extremely disappointed at the FGO meeting” but was happy councilors were willing to bring it back for more discussion and is planning on proposing an original version of the bill with some clarifications.