Some like it hot.
But in Montgomery County, Maryland, renters who want to switch on their air conditioning earlier in the spring could soon get that chance under new proposed legislation.
The Montgomery County Council is considering a bill to require landlords to provide air conditioning from May 15 through Sept. 30. Currently, landlords are not required to provide air conditioning until June 1.
The bill would also remove the exemption for landlords who rent out all or part of their detached single-family homes.
The legislation, Bill 9-26, would provide building owners a transition period during which landlords could seek a temporary waiver. That would be granted in cases where the Department of Housing and Community Affairs finds an “undue hardship.” Waivers would be granted on a case-by-case basis and limited to a 12-month period.
In 2020, Montgomery County enacted a law that requires landlords to provide air conditioning in their rental properties from June 1 through Sept. 30. That bill exempted single-family detached homes and homes on the National Register of Historic Places.
During Tuesday’s public hearing before the Montgomery County Council, Brian Anleu, with the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, told lawmakers there were six days above 80 degrees last May and that most of the month had overnight lows below 70 degrees.
“Comfort is very individual and building-specific,” he said. “The county should not create a countywide standard when the weather data does not support it.”
Regarding personal preferences, Anleu told the council, “I don’t know about you all, but I find it more comfortable to sleep in 70-degree temperatures than colder.”
Pascale Lemaire, a resident of the Enclave apartment complex and vice president of that building’s tenant association, told lawmakers that tenants often experience “crazy heat spikes.”
“And right now, due to global warming, it’s happening earlier and earlier,” she added.
The updated bill, she said, would ensure that landlords provide air conditioning “when people really need it.”
Like Anleu, she added her own take on what makes for comfortable temperatures.
“I will take sleeping in 50 degree weather in May anytime, (rather) than sweltering in 90-degree weather,” Lemaire said.
Matt Losak, with the Montgomery County Renter’s Alliance, testified in support of the amended bill. He also mentioned the recent warm temperatures, including Tuesday’s high of 84 degrees.
“The idea that AC and heat are somehow comfort and luxury at a time when we’re seeing this kind of temperature swing is irresponsible,” Losak said.
“When we hear industry advocates make such claims, it reminds me of the tobacco industry saying that smoking is good for your health.”
Opposing the bill was Dick Stoner, a Rockville resident and owner of the Reist Corporation, which provides property management services. Stoner asked that the exemption for owners of single-family detached homes remain.
“I think we have a very different situation in single-family homes than we do in large rental projects and apartment buildings,” he said.
Looking at the current bill, Stoner said, in his view, it “presents a solution in single-family houses to a problem that does not really exist.”
Stoner said in his experience, many renters of units in single-family homes “prefer to buy their own” air conditioning unit and take it with them from one rental home to the next.
“That’s because there are many factors that are more important than just air conditioning, the location, your proximity to your family, your jobs and your transportation are often much more important,” he said.
The next step for the legislation is a work session before the county’s Planning, Housing and Parks Committee. That work session has yet to be scheduled.
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