The final week of winter has delivered summer-time temperatures in parts of Queensland. Now housing advocates warn heat-related deaths are imminent if the state's rental regulations don't change but the miles government says its standards already protect tenants.
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00:00Tops of 36 degrees in some parts of Queensland are expected on the last day of winter.
00:08While many families will enjoy the sun and flock to the beach, Bailey Wims says it's
00:13a struggle to survive.
00:15I overheat very easily and a couple of times I've nearly died due to that.
00:21The Sunshine Coast student has a condition that impacts the autonomic nervous system
00:26and needs to run air conditioning non-stop.
00:29The idea that the last day of winter is 36 degrees is horrifying me and terrifying me.
00:34I am scared for what this summer is going to bring.
00:38There are similar fears for this renter.
00:40There are some times where I actually prefer to stay in the office overnight for 24 hours
00:45for example.
00:46Get a nice sleep on the couch there rather than come home to the heat.
00:50Currently there are no standards.
00:52Homes don't need to have insulation, they don't need to have ceiling fans.
00:55We have renters reporting that they don't have any fly screens, they can't open a door.
01:00Advocates believe there need to be stricter regulations around ventilation and energy
01:05efficiency ratings.
01:0790% of people that die during heatwaves have a disability.
01:11A spokeswoman for the Housing Minister says there are standards to ensure new homes are
01:16more energy efficient and that reasonable requests for the installation of air conditioning
01:21or ceiling fans cannot be refused by property owners.
01:26Researchers say that heat is often an afterthought for planners creating new urban areas.
01:31And they say change is needed, with studies investigating what can be done to help cool
01:36down Queensland communities.
01:38An issue is that people usually just think about it when you're already overheating.
01:43This Sunshine Coast researcher is studying ways to alleviate heat in urban areas.
01:48To make sure that the cities don't accumulate heat overnight, that that heat that they expose
01:54during the day can actually be released.