As extreme heat events become more frequent across BC, rental housing providers play an important role in supporting tenant safety, sharing reliable information, and preparing buildings and communities for hot weather.
Explore the resources below for practical guidance, check-in tools, and planning support from trusted public health and housing organizations.
Click on each title below to view the resource.
This training provides general information about supporting individuals at higher risk from heat. The information contained in this training does not constitute legal or medical advice. Individuals and organizations using this training are encouraged to seek legal guidance regarding their specific context and whether there are potential risks associated with performing check-in services or providing supports during heat events. Heat check-ins happen in many settings, some with staff or volunteers providing medical services, therefore heat check-in procedures may need to be modified to suit the population served and organizational mandate.
This information provides evidence-informed public health guidance for community organizations to set up and operate inclusive, acceptable, and effective cool spaces. The intended audience is varied, based on our understanding that although local, regional, and First Nation governments assume a primary role in emergency management, community-based organizations, and their volunteers, help to create a whole-of-community approach when preparing for and responding to hot weather.
Building Resilient Neighbourhoods (BRN), in collaboration with Hey Neighbour Collective, has published a new, free guide called Prepare Together for Extreme Heat.
PreparedBC’s Extreme Heat Guide provides practical steps to help people prepare for heat events, stay cool during extreme temperatures, recognize heat-related illness, and create a household plan for safer summer conditions.
BC Housing’s Tenant Extreme Heat Check-In Card is a printable tool that helps housing providers share heat safety tips, check on tenants during extreme heat, and leave clear follow-up information when someone is not home.
Extreme heat events can lead to dangerous indoor temperatures in home without functioning air conditioning. While in-person health checks are best for people at higher risk of heat-related illness, remote check-ins are better than no check-in at all.
High heat can be life-threatening, and the greatest danger is high indoor temperatures during extreme heat events (“heat waves”). But heat-related health impacts are preventable. Learn the signs of heat-related illness, and ways to prepare for hot weather to keep yourself, your family, friends, and neighbors safe.
BC Housing’s Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke resource provides practical guidance, planning tools, tenant communication materials, and safety information to help housing providers prepare for and respond to extreme heat and poor air quality events.
Vancouver Coastal Health’s extreme heat resource offers guidance on recognizing heat-related illness, staying cool, checking in on people at higher risk, and accessing tools for heat response planning.