HOUSTON – A proposed Houston ordinance would require landlords to provide working air conditioning in rental homes, eliminating a loophole that currently allows property owners to provide window screens instead of refrigerated air.
Council member Alejandra Salinas presented the proposed “Right to Air Conditioning” ordinance Tuesday before Houston City Council’s Proposition A Committee.
Salinas described working air conditioning as a basic health and safety necessity for Houston renters. But some council members questioned whether the requirement could increase utility bills for residents already struggling to make ends meet.
For Third Ward resident Cheryl Henderson, staying cool already comes at a cost.
“The only time it get cool is when it rains,” Henderson said while giving KPRC 2 a tour of her upstairs apartment.
Henderson, who is disabled and has other health problems, relies on four portable fans, two ceiling fans and two portable air-conditioning units. She said she keeps them running even when she is away from home.
“Everything keeps going,” Henderson said.
One window unit provided by the property’s maintenance staff is surrounded by tape. Henderson said another larger unit stopped working after its compressor failed.
She also keeps blackout curtains closed and avoids turning on unnecessary lights or using her oven because they make the apartment hotter.
“I really don’t like cooking because it make it hotter in here,” Henderson said. “I normally try to air fry or I try to fix something that’s quick.”
Despite those efforts, Henderson said her bedroom sometimes does not become comfortable until 10 or 11 p.m. or even midnight.
“Then I could finally go to sleep and relax,” she said. “But it’s hard. It really is.”
Henderson said she sometimes wakes up sweating and takes a shower to cool her body before trying to fall asleep again.
Her electric bills also reflect the constant use. Henderson said her most recent bills were approximately $171 and $188, although her actual monthly electricity use can reach $200 to $300 under her billing arrangement.
What would the proposed ordinance change?
Houston’s current minimum utility standards generally require rental-property owners to provide and maintain refrigerated air equipment. However, the city’s code contains an exemption for properties that provide window screens.
Salinas said her office could not determine why that exception was created when Houston adopted its air-conditioning requirements in 2011.
“We looked at the public record,” Salinas told the committee. “We could find no explanation for why the screen and window exception was created.”
The proposed ordinance is intended to eliminate that exemption and require landlords to provide and maintain working refrigerated-air equipment in every habitable space, including rooms lawfully used for living, sleeping, eating or cooking.
Landlords would not be required to retrofit older buildings with central air. They could comply through central AC, window units, portable units or other refrigerated-air equipment.
Under the proposal, the equipment would have to be capable of maintaining an indoor temperature 20 degrees lower than the temperature outside or no higher than 80 degrees, whichever is warmer.
That formula means the ordinance would not guarantee that every rental home remains at or below 80 degrees during extreme heat. If it were 109 degrees outside, for example, the allowable interior temperature could be as high as 89 degrees.
Property owners would have 90 days after the ordinance’s passage and approval to comply.
Council members question potential utility costs
Council member Twila Carter and several other council members expressed concern that requiring air-conditioning equipment could create higher electricity costs for low-income tenants.
Carter cited Baker Ripley’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, saying approximately 100,000 people applied in 2025 and 95% were turned away. She questioned how residents living paycheck to paycheck would afford additional electricity use.
“My concern is the very people that you’re trying to assist, you’re going to push right out the door,” Carter said.
Salinas responded that tenants would retain the choice of whether to turn on the equipment. But under the ordinance, landlords would no longer be able to deny them that choice by failing to provide it.
Salinas estimated operating a wall unit would cost approximately $36 per month, while acknowledging that even that amount could be significant for some families. She also said affordable properties already exist in Houston where landlords provide window units and include utilities in rents of approximately $700 per month.
“The fact that some landlords have chosen not to do so to spread their profit is not something I think the city of Houston needs to ensure and protect,” Salinas said.
She said she plans to use council district discretionary funds to purchase AC units for residents and pointed to other local assistance programs.
“All this ordinance does is ensure that all Houstonians are lifted to that basic health and safety level,” Salinas said, adding that tenant advocates, the Houston Apartment Association and the Houston Food Bank support the proposal.
Henderson rejected the argument that the ordinance’s passage would be responsible for rising electric bills.
“It’s going up every day regardless,” she said.
For Henderson, the debate is about more than comfort. She said extreme heat aggravates her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and can make her feel as though she is suffocating.
“The heat closes my lungs up,” she said. “It’s hard. It’s hard for a lot of people.”
The ordinance remains a proposal and has not yet received final approval from the full Houston City Council.