ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Albuquerque City Councilwoman Tammy Fiebelkorn knows requiring cooling devices inside every Albuquerque home will require some improvements. But she wants to make sure landlords have enough time to help their tenants beat the summer heat.

“Everyone deserves to be safe and comfortable in their own home,” said Councilwoman Tammy Fieblekorn.

Fiebelkorn believes that means keeping the thermostat at a reasonable temperature all year round.

“We have vulnerable populations, seniors, young people, children, people with medical problems. They simply can’t afford to sit in 90-plus degree temperatures in their own home,” Fieblekorn said.

Fiebelkorn is sponsoring a new proposal to require all Albuquerque housing to be equipped with a cooling device capable of maintaining temperatures at or below 80 degrees.

“And I will point out that it’s still pretty hot at 80 degrees, but that’s just the baseline that everyone in our community should expect, no matter how much they can afford to pay for their rent,” Fiebelkorn said.

Average summer temperatures in Albuquerque are nearly 3 degrees higher than in 1970, according to National Weather Service data.

After a record heatwave in 2023, Fieblekorn says it’s time for government leaders to step in to keep Burqueños cool.

“We’re looking at older, older buildings that were built to old building codes and to old requirements, when it wasn’t that hot before climate change started to have a real impact on Albuquerque. We didn’t need it, but we do now,” Fiebelkorn said.

Fiebelkorn says it’s hard to know how many homes don’t currently have some type of cooling device.

“More than 43 percent of Albuquerque’s apartment buildings were built before 1980, and many of these units were not equipped with central air conditioning,” said Alan Laseck of the New York Apartment Association. Mexico.

He suggests that the 80-degree threshold would essentially prohibit the use of swamp coolers, and that air conditioning conversions typically range between $5,000 and $15,000 per unit.

“We completely agree that cooling is very important in Albuquerque, but the language of this ordinance is too restrictive,” Laseck said.

Fiebelkorn believes that cooling is simply something that cannot be negotiated.

“I’m sorry if anyone has this concern, but it’s really just a basic requirement for humans to stay in a unit,” Fieblekorn said.

Fiebelkorn’s proposal would change the city’s uniform building code, which Laseck said would also impact single-family homes.

Fiebelkorn’s proposal is still under committee review and likely won’t come up for a vote by the full council until December.