Toad’s Market owner Memphis Perez restocks his store in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles during a hot summer afternoon on Aug. 25, 2025. The store does not have a fan or an AC unit. (Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters)

By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde | CalMatters

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 u

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