The Montgomery County Council will consider local legislation to require rental properties in the county be air conditioned – responding to frequent dangerous heat conditions.

Council Member Tom Hucker, seen above in an interview with Fox 5 News, argues that the proposal recognizes that cooling is a necessity, alongside similar laws mandating rental properties be heated:

“I think in the old days we thought of air conditioning as a comfort issue,” Hucker told FOX 5’s Bob Barnard. “It’s really a life or death issue.” Hucker said Maryland has already recorded one heat related death this year and worries more may occur due to the periods of extreme heat the region has seen. “It’s really time to see A/C as a life and death necessity.”

See more on the bill, Bill 24-19 – Landlord-Tenant Relations – Obligations of Landlord – Air Conditioning, from the Council’s website.

Read the full article on the Fox 5 website.