Houston City Council passes ordinance requiring rental units to provide air conditioning
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- For the first time in Houston history, landlords will have to provide some sort of air conditioning - whether it's central air or a window unit.
This comes after the Houston City Council approved an A/C ordinance on Wednesday.
"Living without A/C in this city should be criminal," Councilmember Edward Pollard said.
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As it stands, landlords don't have to provide A/C if the property has window screens. Census data also showed that more than 20,000 rental units in the Houston area don't have A/C.
"In Houston, heat impacts health and it impacts the vulnerable populations the most - from our youth to our elderly," Councilmember Mario Castillo said.
But some councilmembers worried there could be unintentional costs on the renter.
"The costs don't disappear. Landlords aren't going to say, 'Let's put in A/C, let's do this and let me absorb it.' They pass it through," Councilmember Twila Carter said.
Ultimately, landlords have 120 days to get into compliance. If they don't, they will face a citation.
"They will then be directed to come to municipal court. Then they again, they have the option to remedy the issue. They choose not to remedy that, we will go into a cycle of issuing citations," Councilmember Alejandra Salinas said. "The smart thing for all landlords to do is to buy these units, figure out a way to install them in their building so we don't have to go through that process."
