A residential air conditioning unit installed in a home window.
The Puget Sound is sweltering, but a new state law is finally bringing guaranteed relief to renters. Washington recently passed legislation giving tenants the legal right to install portable air conditioning units to survive extreme heat.
A residential air conditioning unit installed in a window.
Adapting to a Hotter Northwest
Historically, indoor cooling was a luxury in the Pacific Northwest. Under old regulations, landlords had the power to flatly reject a tenant’s request to install a cooling unit.
Climate change has rewritten that reality. Today, more than half of the homes across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties rely on air conditioning to get through the summer.
“Washington’s rental laws were written for a climate when most people didn’t need air conditioning,” said Sen. Vandana Slatter, a Bellevue Democrat who co-sponsored Senate Bill 6200.
She noted that hotter summers and dense wildfire smoke now frequently force residents to seek refuge indoors, making reliable cooling a health necessity.
New Guidelines for Installation
The new law, which quietly took effect in June, allows renters to install portable AC devices as long as their lease doesn’t explicitly ban them.
However, specific safety and structural rules apply. Tenants planning to install a window AC unit must follow strict guidelines:
- Provide the landlord with a two-day notice prior to installation.
- Ensure the unit does not prevent externally accessible windows from locking securely.
- Avoid using heavy brackets that would void the window frame’s warranty.
- Secure the unit safely to prevent it from falling outside.
- Confirm the installation does not violate the landlord’s building insurance policy.
- Allow landlords to inspect the unit once it is successfully installed.
Floor-mounted and saddle-mounted AC units face far fewer regulatory hurdles under the new legislation.
When Landlords Can Say No
Property owners do retain some veto power to protect their buildings. Landlords can legally block the installation if a building’s electrical grid lacks the capacity to handle the extra power load.
They can also force the removal of a unit if it is installed incorrectly or if it causes significant property damage.
The Multi-Family Housing Association, a prominent landlord advocacy group, has voiced opposition to the bill. The organization argues the new law currently lacks adequate safety provisions regarding exactly how window-mounted units must be secured.
