A screened window may no longer provide enough protection against Houston's dangerous heat.
City leaders are considering a proposal that would require landlords to provide refrigerated air in rental units, closing a loophole that has allowed some properties to treat ventilation as a substitute for actual cooling.
Here's what to know
A Houston City Council vote could remove a provision in the city's minimum housing standards that currently lets a screened window count toward a rental unit's cooling requirement, according to FOX 26 Houston. If that exemption is removed, landlords would need to provide and maintain working refrigerated air in habitable spaces.
Central air would not be mandatory under the proposal. Qualifying window or portable units could still satisfy the rule, as long as they meet Houston's existing temperature standard.
For example, if it is 105 degrees outside, a unit that can maintain 85 degrees indoors would still comply. That's because Houston's standard requires cooling equipment to keep indoor temperatures either 20 degrees below the outdoor temperature or at 80 degrees, whichever is higher.
If adopted, the ordinance would give property owners 90 days to comply with the new requirement.
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More background
Houston regularly faces extreme heat, and a home without reliable cooling can become a serious health and safety issue, especially for older adults, children, and people with underlying medical conditions.
The ordinance would also place responsibility for providing functional cooling equipment on landlords, rather than leaving renters stuck with a bare-minimum interpretation of habitability.
Housing rules can also shape whether renters can adopt other money-saving habits. Across the country, landlords and property managers have been known to prevent renters from making simple changes such as gardening to grow food or hanging clotheslines to dry laundry, even though those choices can help reduce grocery and energy bills.
What's being done?
The change would replace an older standard that treats airflow through a screen as adequate cooling, instead requiring refrigeration-based equipment in a city known for intense summer heat. It would still leave property owners flexibility by allowing different types of qualifying units rather than requiring central AC.
Renters who want to work with landlords or neighborhood associations to change outdated property rules can also check out this resource on how to change bylaws in an HOA or similar community association for a starting point.
The Houston proposal would not solve every affordability issue tied to hot weather, but it could make one key part of summer survival less negotiable.
Houston City Councilmember Alejandra Salinas said: "We've got to get rid of this screened in window exception and ensure that all Houstonians, no matter who you are, no matter what your income level, have a basic health and safety reprieve from the heat."
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