Planning and Communicating with Tenants

Building managers and housing providers should communicate with tenants/clients and building staff about the risks of extreme heat and poor air quality, as well as provide clear guidance on how to stay safe.

A smoky sky over a forested landscape, illustrating poor air quality and extreme heat conditions.

What to do to be prepared

  • Assign leads to monitor hot weather warnings and for poor air quality reports, and let tenants/clients know when they may be at risk
  • Remind tenants/clients how to stay cool and breathe safely with verbal, written, and illustrated communication
    • Print several copies of our Tips to Beat the Heat Poster as well as the Keep Pets Cool Poster
    • and display them in communal areas of your buildings, like the lobby, elevators, and common rooms
    • Have building meetings and emphasize the risks, related illness symptoms, and precautionary measures
  • Ensure that your building staff is aware of the risks, symptoms, what to do, and how to communicate with tenants/clients
  • Have your staff check in on elderly and vulnerable residents, and encourage tenants/clients to check on each other, especially during the time when local health authorities issues weather related health warnings
  • Create a map of public places in the neighbourhood where tenants/clients can go to cool off or breath in filtered air (places with filtered air conditioning/HVAC systems), review it during building meetings, and post it on building message boards.
    • The map may include places such as community centres, libraries, shopping malls, cinemas, etc.
  • Prepare an Extreme Heat & Wildfire Smoke (EHWS) response plan

Resources:

Tips to Beat the Heat - Translations

Learn more: