Given the expectation that climate change will continue to raise temperatures, BC Hydro provided free portable air conditioners for low-income people last summer.
According to a BC Coroners Service report, people who died during the 2021 heat dome were 2.4 times more likely to be low-income compared to those who survived.
Free air conditioning (AC) units could mitigate this tragedy — but BC Hydro doesn't make accessing them easy.
To apply for an AC unit, renters — including people living in single-room occupancy hotels — are required to provide the landlord’s BC Hydro account number and a consent form. Many landlords refused to give tenants permission, telling them that their buildings had insufficient electricity to operate AC units.
Many SROs (single room occupancy hotels) in the Downtown Eastside have poor heating systems, and tenants must rely on portable space heaters in the winter. An average space heater uses about 1,500 watts of electricity. Similarly, AC units suitable for one room use between 1,000 and 1,500 watts. So on the surface, it appears that landlords’ concerns about inadequate electricity are unfounded.
However, Wendy Pedersen, executive director of the SRO Collaborative, says many SROs do not have the electrical grid for everyone to have air conditioning.
One hotel owner did agree to convert one room to a kitchen, and the SRO Collaborative paid for a new electrical circuit and heat pump to provide air conditioning to the room. This at least provided a community “cooling space” where all tenants could cook and get relief from the heat.
Pedersen says that tenants and landlords need to work together to ensure the health and safety of tenants, and this was a good example of that.
The BC Residential Tenancy Branch recommends that “where an AC unit is not a viable option, landlords are encouraged to find solutions that consider the needs of tenants. This includes providing access to cooling rooms and investments in electrical upgrades to accommodate the use of AC units.”
For those whose tenancy agreement permits them (and who can afford it), tenants can simply install their own AC units. But for those whose landlords refuse to play ball, a First United legal advocate can help them ask their landlord to sign the necessary consent form. It’s worth bearing in mind that the Residential Tenancy Act does not set maximum temperatures for rental units or require landlords to allow AC units in rental units, but a ban on AC units could be considered “unconscionable” (which means it is unenforceable) if it grossly impacts the health and quality of life of the tenant.
Another barrier to acquiring a free BC Hydro AC unit is the degree of familiarity with and access to online sites that are required.
Jules Chapman, a Megaphone writer who is comfortable accessing resources online, said that in addition to proof of income, a BC Hydro account number and a landlord consent form filled out by the landlord, she was required to access her provincial government account online. She has an account, but the government app wouldn’t let her in, and after surfing around in circles for two hours, she finally gave up. Gone are the days when customers are able to pick up the phone and talk to a real human being.
All this points to “free AC” not being free of barriers for those who are marginalized. In addition to landlord resistance to AC units to protect their profits, those with low incomes, little knowledge of technology or no access to the internet are at a disadvantage for accessing what could be life-saving resources during extreme weather events.
As lack of access to services trickles down, wealth floods up, and heat deaths stalk SRO hotels.
Gilles Cyrenne is a retired journeyman carpenter, now writing full-time. He is vice-president of the Carnegie Community Centre Association and has been involved for more than a decade with various writing groups and projects, including the annual Downtown Eastside Writers’ Festival. Gilles is a member of The Shift peer newsroom.
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Amy Romer, works as a mentor for Megaphone's peer newsroom called The Shift in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.The Shift is made up of a diverse group of individuals with lived experience of poverty, who are reporting from the DTES instead of being reported on.
