A right to cooling? Heat protection as a key issue for the future of the rental market

Recent summers have clearly shown just how much we rely on cool living spaces and public areas that offer protection from the heat. Heat takes its toll on both body and mind, and it does not affect everyone in the same way: older people, babies and children, as well as those with chronic or mental health conditions, are particularly at risk. People at risk of poverty are also disproportionately affected, as they are more likely to live in multi-storey blocks of flats and densely built-up neighbourhoods. Rising rents and cuts to social services further exacerbate the situation: those who cannot afford a well-insulated flat, or who lose their home altogether, are particularly vulnerable to the heat.

Whilst the right to heating – and thus to warmth – is enshrined in tenancy law, there is no comparable right to protection from excessive heat. Air-conditioning systems can provide short-term relief, but they are neither sustainable nor socially just.

Is there a need for a right to cooling, and how could this be implemented in a socially just manner? How do cuts and rising rents affect homelessness in Vienna? Where does Vienna stand with its climate targets in the housing sector, and what is needed to achieve them? What does climate-resilient construction look like, and what solutions already exist?

This will be discussed by Matthias Ratheiser (meteorologist and managing director of Weather Park), Barbara Stuparek-Müller (project manager at the Obdach mobil advice centre) and Georg Prack (Group Leader of the Greens, spokesperson on housing).