(The Center Square) – The Spokane City Council proposed an ordinance Monday that would require every rental unit to have “adequate cooling,” meaning temperatures at or below 80 degrees, by 2031.
The idea follows another ordinance the officials approved in June 2024, which prohibits landlords from restricting tenants from installing air conditioning. Councilmember Paul Dillon’s proposal takes things a step further by making cooling a condition of habitability and providing tenants with several remedies.
If approved, a tenant could immediately install an AC if their rental unit reaches 80 degrees or higher, and deduct the cost from their rent after providing the landlord with 24 hours’ notice. After 2031, they could terminate their lease, pursue other remedies in state law, or deduct the cost of an AC from rent.
“Spokane is like the donut hole. There’s development all around the city, but a lot not in the city, and they say, because it’s locked to our code and our ordinances that we layer on,” Council President Betsy Wilkerson said during Monday’s committee meeting. “I would just like us to really keep that in mind.”
The proposal also requires landlords of any unit permitted for construction on or after Jan. 1, 2027, to provide cooling in each room. Rental inspections would ensure that cooling is provided as required by the ordinance and state law, with failure to comply potentially resulting in denial of a business license.
If approved, landlords could only stop a tenant from installing or using a cooling device if the rental already has a working heat pump, or if the device would violate building codes, state or federal law, the device’s safety guidelines, significantly damage the unit, create a safety risk, or exceed the unit’s electrical capacity. If it’s a window-installed device, landlords could step in if it blocks an egress point, interferes with a lock, requires damaging hardware or requires drainage to avoid damaging the unit.
Councilmember Michael Cathcart said he sent about 30 questions to the council staff and their legal team for more clarification. He raised concerns about a lack of specificity, emphasizing the need to clarify who is accountable for what regarding the landlords’ and tenants’ responsibilities and remedies.
“We’ve had 100-plus years of development, and this has not been a requirement. Throughout all that time landlords have invested, they’ve done all kinds of things, and to now suddenly throw this in there and say, ‘Oh, and by the way."” Cathcart told The Center Square in an interview. “I mean, if a landlord has the ability to help and provide great, but it should not be a mandate on retroactive units.”
He said one section includes the wording “devices(s),” warning that tenants could potentially deduct the cost of multiple ACs from their rent. Wilkerson questioned what would happen if the temperature fluctuated from one room to another, especially in older homes like her own, and asked for more data.
Dillon cited the 2021 Northwest Heat Dome, which resulted in at least 19 deaths in Spokane County and 300 people seeking medical care, as a justification for the proposal. He said the idea ultimately came from the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment and Gonzaga law students.
“This ordinance would save lives. I am proud to co-sponsor and grateful for the students at Gonzaga University for helping move this forward,” Dillon wrote in a news release after Monday’s meeting.
