This summer showed the you can't escape the climate crisis, even at home. With so many of us renting, what should landlords obligations be to ensuring your home stays cool?
Jemima Elliott
The heat has been inescapable this summer. Oppressive, draining our energy and our concentration, the impacts on our health ever more present. The climate crisis can no longer be ignored - it is now part of our everyday lives. From our workplaces to our leisure time, and even our bedrooms, the climate crisis is affecting more of daily life. And yet still oil and gas licenses like Rosebank and Jackdaw are still being considered by the government despite widespread opposition, including the return last week of protest group Just Stop Oil. The campaign for a maximum workplace temperature has been gaining traction, with support from trade unions, progressive politicians and the majority of the UK public. But what happens when we clock off?
Ems, 29, lives in Birmingham and works between her home and her office in the city. As the heat has risen, she has spent more time commuting to work in her office, where there is air conditioning. For Ems the issues occur when she returns from work: "Outside is not as bad but internal temperature is hard," she tells me. "At the height of the extreme heat it was 39 degrees in my flat”; when we talked at 7pm Ems’ flat was 32 degrees. “I take two types of medication, one of which is fridge-dependent and the other needs to be stored in a cool dry place not above 25 degrees. I do my best to keep them cool but I’ve got to hope for the best. I worry that my life-saving medication will denature.” Most medicines need to be stored below 25 degrees, so this can cause problems for many people like Ems.
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Ems has a good relationship with her landlady, but when she asked about making provisions against the heat, she was told that her landlady is powerless because building infrastructure is the responsibility of the building’s management. The building itself is a mix of rented and privately owned properties. Ems’ flat has the worst legal Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating, which was manageable when she first moved in (and wasn’t being prescribed her current medication) but it has now become difficult. She tells me how she escapes the heat where possible, by going to her boyfriend’s cooler flat, but that is not a permanent solution. ‘Being a chronically ill woman living alone has really shown me how these compounding factors affect our experience of the climate crisis,” Ems says. ‘I’m not able to afford aircon or a climate appropriate apartment at the moment, and that will be the same for so many people. I’m hoping to get a portable aircon machine before they become essential, but it’s a big expense.’
Annabel* (whose name has been changed), aged 28, decided to briefly leave her Bristol flat to escape the extreme heat. “When I saw it was going to be 38 degrees, I immediately started googling ‘Bristol hotels with aircon’ and after trawling through all my options decided my best bet would be a Travelodge in north Bristol for £70” she says. “That being said, I did pay an extra fee for early check-in as I thought I may as well make the most of it! The immediate relief of a cool room was beyond worth it! I was able to crack on with my work that day and didn't check out until the very last second. I don't have a freezer in my flat either so I made full use of getting ice from the bar!” Like Ems, Annabel’s flat doesn’t cool back down overnight, despite following advice closing windows and blinds during the day and opening them at night. When asked whether she had contacted her landlord for support Annabel shared that she had only mentioned the heat in passing. “I would be wary of requesting anything like air conditioning that might then make the ‘market value’ higher and increase my rent!”
Nicole, 32, lives in Tottenham and has been struggling with sleeping and working during the hot extreme heat. She is self-employed so has been waking up early to start working at 5 or 6am and finish at about noon avoiding work at the height of the heat. “I’ve been a huge supporter of the campaign for maximum workplace temperatures,” Nicole says, “but I’d never thought about landlords having a responsibility for maximum temperatures in homes before. What happens for people who work at home? Should their employer have a responsibility to support employees who work from home by providing aircon and fans? Work from home culture has outsourced the responsibility for a safe working environment onto workers rather than employers.”
The experiences of Ems, Annabel and Nicole are echoed in the finding of the Hot Homes Project, a collaboration between south London residents, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and the University of Glasgow’s Urban Big Data Centre where, from early August to mid-September 2023, the temperatures of 40 homes in the London Borough of Southwark were monitored. Every home monitored recorded heat of at least 25 degrees celsius, with many recording above 30. The occupants of the houses monitored reported several instances of heat-related ill health, from triggering asthma flare ups to hospitalisations to mental health impacts. With an estimated 2,877 heat-associated deaths between May and June in 2026 - a mortality burden already close to the highest annual totals previously recorded by UKHSA - it is clear that heat-related illnesses are not one off incidents, but an escalating crisis.
It’s not just renters who are noticing this, Kevin Garvey, Head of Member Engagement at the National Housing Federation, said: “It’s becoming increasingly clear that England’s homes, which were built for a more temperate climate, are not fit for the extreme summers we’re now having. This is particularly concerning for vulnerable groups, such as older people and young children. Our analysis found that one in six babies in England are living in overheated homes – a number that is certain to rise.”
What are landlords current obligations?
Both extreme heat and extreme cold are classified as hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) for England and Wales. There are currently no set legal minimum or maximum temperatures for rented properties that landlords must adhere to, however “Government guidance says homes should be able to maintain a minimum temperature of 18 degrees celsius.” A landlord has an obligation to ensure a property is liveable and dignified for tenants, including to prevent or remove hazards.
Lettings platform Goodlord recently published new guidance for landlords on taking a “proactive approach to tackling excess heat”, providing potential fixes and their costs. While there may not have been any specific legal changes around high temperatures in rented properties, the publication of resources like these show that it is a problem increasingly on landlords’ agendas.
What should be changed?
This kind of heat is new to the UK - we’re just getting to grips with its implications in all areas of our lives. Mitigating the climate impacts we’re already feeling and preventing further escalation of the climate crisis has to be a priority for Andy Burnham’s new government. “As heatwaves become more frequent and more intense, we need urgent action to ensure homes can be kept at safe temperatures and are fit for the future,” says Kevin Garvey. “Housing associations are taking this seriously and are already building heat resilience into their homes, but they cannot do it alone. We’re calling on ministers to work with the sector on a comprehensive plan to tackle overheating in social housing and support landlords to retrofit cooling measures at scale and pace.”
And what do renters think should be changed as part of this adaptation process? “I mean not drilling up the North Sea and making climate change even worse would be a start!” says Annabel, “but I think in terms of actual tangible action on homes there should be funded community spaces with air conditioning that people can access within reasonable hours (beyond working hours too to provide relief, like 7am to 10pm). Maybe a scheme that provides cooling solutions for affordable prices or for hire. My flat is small and I would like to not have a portable aircon unit taking up storage 11/12 months a year.”
“We need to introduce maximum legal temperatures so there is more accountability,” says Nicole. “Everyone should have a legal framework for time off work or solutions in their home. Cafes could get an allowance for aircon to create safe working spots for remote workers.”
“There should be massive environmental grants for heat pumps, solar panels and air conditioning to be installed on all possible buildings," says Ems. “It would really help to reduce bills when people like me are reliant on fridge-dependent medications. In addition to that we need a shift in perspective on housing policies: more regulation on private housing, legal and enforced temperature standards across winter and summer in terms of temperature, and a broader recognition that there are lots of different vulnerabilities to temperature changes, not just old people in winter.”
It’s clear something needs to be done to tackle heat in our homes - in this same way preventing the cold in the winter is a priority, so should maintaining liveable temperatures in the summer. With the Renters’ Rights Act now in place, will Andy Burnham’s new government go further and push for more climate-appropriate housing? If his plans for a new wave of housing construction goes ahead, the homes built must be equipped to temper extreme weather of all kinds, including the kinds of heat we are now experiencing. As the campaign for maximum work temperatures gains ground, this could be an opportunity for housing campaigners and tenants’ unions to use that momentum to bring housing temperatures into the conversation. It may not be a focal point for policy right now, but it’s difficult to believe that housing temperatures will not become a key issue in future elections.
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