PMC Group tenants at Market 2121 say the heat is stifling

When Tasha Kuronen returned to her apartment on November 3 after five days away, she encountered a wall of heat.

The temperature in her second-floor apartment at 2121 Market St. was 85 degrees, which would have been uncomfortable even if it had been seasonally cooler outside.

Instead, in the middle historically long dry spellwith temperature achieving a record Temperatures were in the 80s Wednesday and the environment inside her building was suffocating.

“I walked in and the heat wave hit me,” Kuronen said.

Market 2121 is owned by PMC Property Group, which did not respond to a request for comment. The building also houses a Trader Joe’s restaurant.

Building managers told Kuronen that nothing could be done. They said it’s standard procedure under city code: On Oct. 1, they turn on the heat, which means they turn off the cooling systems.

Kuronen posted notes in elevators and hallways asking if other residents had had similar experiences. The responses came in a wave of text messages, calls and emails – more than 40 in total. Tenants could not sleep or cook, and some families had to take their troublesome children elsewhere.

“It was a little creepy because after I posted, I would go out into the hallways and find other flyers that looked like a chicken scratched by a pen saying, ‘Please help me.’ The heat is killing me,” Kuronen said.

The situation shows the challenges climate change poses for the apartment rental market and the laws that govern it.

Philadelphia code requires that between October 1 and April 30, operators of multi-unit buildings such as apartment buildings must provide heating capable of maintaining room temperature at 68 degrees. The requirement applies to September and May if temperatures drop below 60 degrees during those months. This provision does not apply if each installation has its own separate climate control system.

There is a caveat: although the heating should be able to turn on during these months, it does not have to be turned on unless the outside temperature reaches 68 degrees or below.

Residents at 2121 Market St. say it’s muggy on days like Halloween, when temperatures reach 82 degrees, but even on some evenings when the weather is more seasonal.

“They’re telling me they’re deviating from the ruling, but I think that’s a gross misinterpretation of the ruling,” Kuronen said. “They must provide equipment that can heat the room to at least 68 degrees. Nobody is demanding that it be blown up so that it’s 85 degrees.”

Other residents say the problem is simply that the air conditioners they can control in their rooms during the warmer months are turned off despite the high fall temperatures.

Many of the building’s residents pulled mattresses out of windowless bedrooms to sleep. It was especially difficult for older residents, families with small children and pet owners.

“I’ve been sleeping in my living room for the last two or three weeks because our apartments don’t have windows in the bedroom,” said Malik Killing, who has lived at 2121 Market for five years. “I sleep in the living room on the sofa with the windows open.”

PMC has offered window units to tenants, but Kuronen fears this will cause utility prices to skyrocket and the solution won’t help those who can’t open windows or can’t sleep in their living rooms.

“It may be a broken or outdated system, but I told management that since global warming is causing temperature changes, they are obligated to make changes to the building, policies or equipment,” Kuronen said.

As the reality of climate change becomes more pressing, other cities are considering changing state and local laws governing residential heating. To Chicago in 2022 three elderly women died during the May heat wave because the heating in their house was still on.

There has been debate in Massachusetts over changing state law that requires heating to be available in residential buildings between September 15 and June 15. Landlord organizations argue that the heat affordability standard in Massachusetts should be eliminated by the end of May and that air conditioning should be required most of the year.

“Given the impacts of global warming and climate change, it is important to review existing regulations to ensure they effectively protect all Philadelphia residents,” said Steve Cintaman, vice president of government relations for the Pennsylvania Apartment Association. “The rise in temperatures in recent years is more evident than ever before. PAA is committed to working with local authorities to review these measures.”

Unsatisfied with the PMC’s response, Kuronen seeks outside help. She called the Department of Licenses and Inspections, the Better Business Bureau and an HVAC specialist to see if they could diagnose the building’s specific heating problem.

Kuronen would also like to see the City Council review building codes and set a maximum temperature. similar to Massachusetts, where Building owners should ensure temperatures do not exceed 78 degrees.

“They can’t do their best, and I think it’s grossly negligent on all sides,” Kuronen said.