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Houston's AC rule, explained for renters and landlords

Houston's housing code now requires working air conditioning in every room people live, sleep, eat, or cook in. Window screens no longer count as a substitute.

Am I covered?For ownersReport a problem

The rule

§ 10-363(d)(8)

AC equipment able to keep each habitable room

Cooler than outside by
20°F
No higher than
80°F
Owners must comply by

120 days after the City Council vote on August 19, 2026.

What the code requires

  • Working AC in each habitable spaceThe owner must provide refrigerated air equipment, and keep it in good operating condition, able to hold the inside temperature 20°F lower than outside or no higher than 80°F.
  • Habitable spaceA room used for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage rooms, and utility rooms don't count.
  • Screens no longer replace ACThe old rule let screens stand in for air conditioning. That exception is gone. Screens are still required on outside openings of homes not cooled with refrigerated air.
  • How it's measuredThe code doesn't set a method for measuring cooling. (For heating, it says 3 feet above the floor.)

Who it covers

  • Owners of property in HoustonThe code puts the duty on "an owner of property," and this part of the code "applies to all structures."
  • Built to protect rentersThe City adopted the change to protect renters, and enforcement starts with tenant complaints to 311.
  • Leases can't waive itA lease can't excuse an owner from complying.
  • Not coveredHotels and jails aren't dwelling units under this part of the code.

For owners

Five steps to comply, with unit sizing

  • What countsCentral air isn't required. Window units, portable units, central air, or other refrigerated equipment that meets the standard all work.
  • Older equipmentCooling that met the Construction Code when it was installed is acceptable if it's in good operating condition and safe to use.
  • Until the deadlineBefore December 17, 2026, owners must make reasonable and continuous progress toward compliance.
  • DefensesNew construction making reasonable and continuous progress; utilities lawfully cut for nonpayment where the tenant didn't pay the utility directly and the unit otherwise substantially complied; or a violation that reasonable investigation or inspection couldn't have found.
  • CitationsAfter a 311 complaint, a city inspector examines it, and owners get a chance to fix it. A criminal citation comes only after a written warning with a reasonable chance to cure. The City can also issue an administrative citation or summons.
  • FinesA misdemeanor, $200 to $2,000 on conviction. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.

For renters

  • Report itCall 311, or 713.837.0311 from any phone, 24 hours a day. You can also use the Houston 311 app or website. Step by step
  • Ask for the repairUnder Texas law, a landlord must make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects an ordinary tenant's health or safety, once you give notice where rent is normally paid and you're current on rent.
  • No retaliationHouston's code bars owners and managers from retaliating for reports, and adopts Texas law: for six months after a good faith complaint or repair request, a landlord can't retaliate by filing an eviction (except on allowed grounds), cutting services, raising rent, or ending the lease.

Don't confuse it with

  • The Multi-Family Habitability CodeA separate Houston apartment inspection law (Chapter 10, Article IV) with its own fines. The AC rule is in Article IX, § 10-363. News stories sometimes mix the two.

If the mayor's approval date differs from the vote, the deadline could shift by a day or two.