Renters are baking in dangerously hot homes.
We need better regulations to protect people who rent.
Renters are baking in dangerously hot homes every summer, and it’s getting worse. Climate change means hotter summers and longer, hotter and more frequent heatwaves. This is bad news for everyone, but especially renters, who are more likely to live in poorly built, low energy efficient homes with no insulation or air con, and no real power to get their landlords to make simple cooling modifications such as installing heat proof curtains or fixing drafty windows that trap heat inside.
Every renter deserves a heat safe home. This includes people living in private rentals, social or public housing.
Private rentals
- A rental property that is privately managed by a landlord
- Involves a tenant periodically paying an owner rent
social housing
- Public and community housing owned or managed by government and non-profit organisations.
- Housing for people in ‘highest need’, for example people on low income, experiencing homelessness, family violence and other support needs.
Housing Affordability Crisis
Many renters are already feeling the financial strain of skyrocketing energy bills, and many in our community are having to choose between turning their air-conditioning on and paying for medication or other essentials.
While essential for people who cannot retrofit their homes or passively cool them, air conditioning is not a band-aid solution, especially when many people can’t afford to run it. We also need simple, affordable cooling options to ensure that everyone can make the choice to protect themselves during extreme heat events.
Household Energy Upgrades Fund
The Household Energy Upgrades Fund is a national program that provides financial incentives for households to install solar panels, energy efficient appliances and upgrades.
This program is only accessible for homeowners and landlords. To ensure the program targets those who will most benefit, it needs to be more accessible for people who rent.
Renter’s voices first
In the 2023-24 Summer Survey, people who rent emphasised the multiple challenges they face during a heatwave. These findings reflect the need for more to reduce the health and financial impacts of extreme heat.
“Having access to a cool home should be accessible to everyone and is essential to maintaining individuals health. I had to move out of my last rental property partly because the lack of simple cooling measures such as windows with fly screens and blinds made the house unbearably hot in summer. This is unacceptable.”
“With a greater share of the population renting, and this proportion likely to continue to increase, it is vital that rental standards are upgraded to reflect that rentals are long term homes, not transient accommodation.”
“People aren’t speaking up about basic needs, due to fear of being seen as difficult. For any simple changes to be made (to reduce heat stress), real incentives need to be created, rules and requirements need changing & proper monitoring to make sure those changes actually happen.“
The Solutions
Campaign Updates
Victorian Campaign
The Heatwave Safe Homes for Renters campaign is calling on the Victorian Housing Minister to implement simple, practical changes to our current rental rules. The goal is to win safe, cool homes and reduce the incidence of heat-related illnesses and deaths in our communities.
If we mobilise renters and communities across Victoria through MP engagement, impactful storytelling and public outreach, we can compel the Victorian government to commit to changing Victoria’s rental rules. We recognise the strength of communities as powerful messengers, and we believe that grassroots mobilisation is the key to winning the campaign.
Submission to include cooling in Victorian Rental Minimum Standards
Currently heating is included in the rental minimum standards. We know from Summer Survey data and community stories that cooling is just as essential. We need funding for energy efficient cooling and common sense cooling measures: ceiling fans, blinds, curtains, flyscreens and insulation.
Homes that are safe, habitable and healthy.
Community stories and experiences are at the centre of our campaign asks. We need cooling to be included in the rental minimum standards for truly safe homes.
Mobilising Renters
In June 2024, we hosted a series of virtual and in person events to support Victorian renters in making their submissions about proposed changes to the rental minimum standards.
Campaign Win!
In Victoria we have been campaigning alongside a committed group of rental advocates for funding to clear the backlog of VCAT rental dispute cases.
The Victorian Government has committed to creating a new dispute resolution body, and this is a big win for renters who have had to wait for months to get urgent issues sorted and ensure their homes are safe. According to a spokesperson from the Victorian government:
“Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria will provide a one-stop shop for renters, agents and landlords to resolve tenancy disputes. It will be faster, fairer and cheaper, relieving pressure in VCAT.”
While we still have lots of work to do to ensure that this new body genuinely benefits renters, helping to secure this victory has given us a boost of confidence and motivation to win all of our campaign asks.
Get Involved
Write to your MP
If we want to win safe homes for everyone, we need to keep the pressure on the Victorian government. If you write a personal letter to your MP, they have to respond to you, and the more of us that send letters, the more likely we are to reach victory. Please get in contact with Sweltering Cities Victorian Community Campaigner, sophie@swelteringcities.org and we’ll send you all the information you need to reach out to your MP and connect you with other people in your area.
Sign Our Petition
Sign our petition calling for safe, cool homes: In Victoria, renters are living in dangerously hot homes because cooling is not a requirement in our rental rules (even though heating is!). This has to change. Sign the petition to call for cooling to be included in our minimum rental standards. This will save lives and protect our communities from the health impacts of extreme heat.
