Cooling requirements

Legal Memorandum

Read the legal version from Lidstone & Co.

Extreme heat events have highlighted the need for cooling in residential buildings, especially for vulnerable populations. Local governments in British Columbia have two primary tools to require or enable cooling, one for rental properties and one for buildings applying for building permits to undertake a major retrofit.

Municipalities and regional districts can adopt a Standards of Maintenance Bylaw under the Community Charter or Local Government Act to require landlords to provide cooling in rental units or permit tenants to install mobile cooling devices.

Local governments can apply Section 9.33.3(2) of the 2024 BC Building Code to buildings undergoing retrofits that require permits, thereby ensuring at least one room maintains indoor temperatures below 26°C. While this does not mandate heat pumps, it creates a performance requirement that can often be met through electric cooling systems. These tools offer municipalities a path to improve tenant safety and climate resilience in both existing and upgraded housing.

Regulatory pathways

Apply Section 9.33.3(2) of the Building Code to buildings undergoing retrofits

Last update: Aug. 2025

Section 9.33.3(2) of the BC Building Code requires residential buildings with use in the summer months to have at least one room with facilities that are capable of maintaining the indoor air temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or less.

How it works

  • The 2024 Building Code standards generally do not apply to existing buildings that were built to standards in earlier building codes. However, when an existing building requires a building permit, local governments can, by bylaw or regulation, require the existing building to comply with 2024 Building Code safety or performance standards.
  • A cooling requirement would likely be considered a safety standard, so local governments could likely, by bylaw or regulation, require existing buildings that need a building permit to comply with this cooling requirement in the 2024 Building Code.
  • This does not require heat pumps, but heat pumps could be used to achieve this requirement.
  • For existing multifamily buildings, strata permission is required to install a heat pump.

Standards of Maintenance Bylaw requiring cooling for rental units and rental properties

Last update: Aug. 2025

Local governments could likely enact a bylaw requiring cooling for rental units and rental properties. Municipalities have authority under section 8(3)(g) of the Community Charter to regulate, prohibit, and impose requirements in relation to the heath, safety, or protection of persons or property relating to matters in section 63.

How it works

  • Under section 63, municipalities may exercise this authority in relation to rental units and residential property that are subject to a tenancy agreement.
  • Regional districts also have this power under section 298(1)(n) of the Local Government Act.
    • The purposes in section 298(2) include “the health, safety or protection of persons or property.”
  • Local governments can likely enact bylaws requiring cooling in rental properties or requiring landlords to allow renters to use their own mobile cooling units to rental properties.

Glossary Entry

Bylaws Under the Community Charter

The Community Charter gives municipalities the authority to regulate specific local matters by bylaw.

Part 2 of the Community Charter outlines the powers municipalities have to pass bylaws in defined areas, following a “spheres of jurisdiction” model. This means local governments can regulate, require, or prohibit certain activities—such as animal control or public health—within specific policy areas, or “spheres.”

Some of these areas are classified as spheres of concurrent authority under Section 9 of the Charter. This includes:

  • Section 8(3)(i) – public health
  • Section 8(3)(j) – protection of the natural environment

In these cases, municipalities must receive approval from the relevant provincial minister before adopting a bylaw—even if the bylaw also addresses issues in non-concurrent areas.

Glossary Entry

Bylaws Under the Local Government Act

This provincial law gives municipalities and regional districts specific powers to manage land use, development, and local services.

Unlike the Community Charter, which follows a “spheres of jurisdiction” model, the Local Government Act (LGA) assigns specific powers to local governments. It specifies which sections apply to municipalities and which apply to regional districts.

Glossary Entry

Cooling requirements

Extreme heat events have highlighted the need for cooling in residential buildings, especially for vulnerable populations. Local governments in British Columbia have two primary tools to require or enable cooling, one for rental properties and one for buildings applying for building permits to undertake a major retrofit.

Municipalities and regional districts can adopt a Standards of Maintenance Bylaw under the Community Charter or Local Government Act to require landlords to provide cooling in rental units or permit tenants to install mobile cooling devices.

Local governments can apply Section 9.33.3(2) of the 2024 BC Building Code to buildings undergoing retrofits that require permits, thereby ensuring at least one room maintains indoor temperatures below 26°C. While this does not mandate heat pumps, it creates a performance requirement that can often be met through electric cooling systems. These tools offer municipalities a path to improve tenant safety and climate resilience in both existing and upgraded housing.