Spokane Ordinance Guarantees the “Right to Have Air Conditioning”

The ordinance signed into law by Mayor Lisa Brown, is modeled after and Oregon law.

Ordinance goes into effect in Mid-July

According to The Center Square, the ordinance prohibits landlords from restricting portable or non-permanent air conditioning  devices. But unlike Oregon Senate Bill 1536 the Spokane ordinance is in effect year round.

According to The Center Square:

"The only exceptions to the ordinance are if an air-conditioning device causes “unreasonable” damage or requires “excessive” brackets to mount or install despite the measure not defining either term.

However, under the ordinance, landlords can require that only they install, remove or inspect their tenants’ air conditioning units. This may leave room for a potential challenge in the future if a landlord puts off installing a unit by suggesting it causes “unreasonable” damage or requires “excessive” brackets."

  Officials cited the 2019 heatwave 'dome' that killed 19 people. Of those, officials say the majority did not have AC, and all were suitably housed in non-homeless housing. Brown and supporters of the ordinance said people have the right to have a potentially life-saving service where they live.

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  Officials did not say if there will be any financial assistance to compensate landlords for the additional expenses.