The city of Houston is now the largest city in the Southern United States to adopt a right to Air Conditioning ordinance. On August 19, 2026, Houston City Council resoundingly approved the ordinance designed by Council Member Alejandra Salinas with only two members voting no. This passage now establishes that rental properties will be required to provide and maintain operable air conditioning in habitable spaces.
Texas Housers has worked for several years to erase Houston’s window screen loophole, which entitled landlords to opt out of providing air conditioning in their units if a window screen was present and the unit could maintain an internal temperature of 85 degrees or 20 degrees below the day’s highest temperature.
As Texans throughout the state know, the heat that Houston experiences can be punishing – even deadly – and is not limited to summer months. For too long, far too many households in our nation’s fourth largest city have had to suffer in high temperatures, particularly exposing elderly, youth, and residents with disabilities to potential health complications.
There are several challenges facing low-income households in Houston including affordability, conditions, retaliation, among many others. Basic habitability should not be an issue that the government chooses to abscond from. Yet it took the hard work of Council Member Salinas, community groups and leaders, and everyday residents to right this wrong and ensure that all Houstonians have access to air conditioning.
Owners and operators of rental properties now have 120 days to comply by providing operable cooling through a variety of means including window units, portable A/C units, central air, or other refrigerated systems.
We at Texas Housers are deeply honored to work beside community to effect real change in instances just like this one, to ensure that any renter in Houston has the right to choose to regulate the temperatures of their homes. This includes groups such as CEER, Air Alliance Houston, Houston Tenants Union, Progressive Caucus, several Superneighborhoods, and Northeast Action Collective among many others.
Now that the ordinance is official, it’s time for enforcement. Let your neighbors, family, and friends know that this basic safety standard is now the law of the land. Share with them that Houston is now a place where tenants have a guaranteed right to air conditioning in their homes.
