During the most recent heat wave in Los Angeles, Memphis Perez, his wife, three children and elderly mother crammed into a bedroom, the only room in their apartment with air conditioning. He paid for the air conditioner himself, but thinks his landlord should have provided one instead.

“It’s like being inside a toaster,” Perez said. Temperatures reached the upper nineties; it was sweltering for days. “It’s only fair for them to do their part and provide a survivable experience in an apartment,” he added.

But it is unlikely the state Legislature will make that happen this year, despite a report from the California Department of Housing and Community Development recommending that the state set a maximum indoor temperature standard of 82 degrees for all homes.

Sen. Henry Stern, a Los Ang

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