CHARLOTTE — A local non-profit, ActionNC, is advocating for a mandate to require air conditioning in rental properties in Charlotte as the city faces dangerously high temperatures this summer.
Currently, state law mandates that landlords provide heating in rental properties, but there is no requirement for air conditioning.
ActionNC is pushing for this change to ensure that residents, particularly those in low-income communities, have access to a cool living space during extreme heat.
“People should be able to walk into their home, and if not, the whole house being cool, but there should be at least a cool space,” said Robert Dawkins, Political Director of ActionNC.
Dawkins presented the proposal for an air conditioning mandate to the city council during this year’s budget meeting.
However, the council is constrained by state laws, which currently do not require air conditioning in rental units.
In response, the city is introducing the Rental HVAC Investment Pilot Program, which aims to provide financial support to landlords for installing air conditioning in units that have never had it before.
The program offers up to $5,000 per unit to cover the cost of HVAC installations, with a maximum of ten units per property owner.
Eligibility for the program requires that the property must have been owned for over two years by the current landlord, the units must never have had air conditioning, and there must be no open code violations.
Shaneka Bardney, a resident affected by the heat wave, expressed her support for the mandate, stating, “I definitely feel like it should be mandated.”
She has turned to Crisis Assistance Ministry for help with her energy bills to keep her home cool.
While the city has not set an official start date for the HVAC pilot program, it plans to continue discussions with the city council’s Housing Safety and Community Committee.
In the meantime, ActionNC remains committed to advocating for an air conditioning mandate to protect vulnerable residents from extreme heat.
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