{"id":410893,"date":"2026-08-19T14:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T14:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/410893\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T14:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T14:40:12","slug":"houston-city-council-to-vote-on-right-to-a-c-ordinance-as-council-member-launches-free-a-c-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/410893\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston City Council to vote on \u2018Right to A\/C\u2019 ordinance as council member launches free A\/C giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Houston City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a proposed ordinance that would require rental properties to provide working refrigerated air conditioning, as one council member launches a separate effort to provide free portable A\/C units to vulnerable Houstonians.<\/p>\n

Council Member Alejandra Salinas announced a giveaway of 125 portable air conditioning units for eligible residents who need help staying cool during Houston\u2019s extreme summer heat.<\/p>\n

The units are available to eligible Houston residents, including:<\/p>\n

Seniors age 60 and older<\/p>\n

Low-income households<\/p>\n

Disabled veterans<\/p>\n

People with disabilities<\/p>\n

Families facing financial hardship<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Houston, access to air conditioning can no longer be a luxury,\u201d Salinas said. \u201cNo senior, veteran, person with a disability, or family struggling to make ends meet should have to endure dangerous indoor temperatures because they cannot afford adequate cooling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents must apply<\/a> to receive one of the 125 portable A\/C units. Those who need help completing the application can contact Salinas\u2019 office at 832-393-3012.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the link to apply. <\/a><\/p>\n

Distribution details will be provided to selected residents.<\/p>\n

The giveaway comes as Salinas pushes a proposed \u201cRight to Air Conditioning\u201d ordinance that would change Houston\u2019s current rental requirements.<\/p>\n

Under the proposal, landlords would be required to provide and maintain operable refrigerated air conditioning in habitable spaces.<\/p>\n

The ordinance would also eliminate a provision that allows window screens to be used as an alternative to air conditioning under the city\u2019s current code.<\/p>\n

The proposed requirement would not necessarily mean every rental property must have central air conditioning. A window unit or portable A\/C could also qualify, as long as the equipment can cool the living space to 80 degrees.<\/p>\n

The ordinance is scheduled to go before City Council for a vote Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the proposal point to the health risks associated with extreme heat, particularly for seniors, people with disabilities and low-income residents who may not have reliable access to air conditioning.<\/p>\n

According to Harris County Public Health, more than 7,600 cases of heat-related illness were reported in the county between 2019 and 2023.<\/p>\n

Salinas said the A\/C giveaway is part of a broader effort to make reliable cooling a basic health and safety standard for Houston residents.<\/p>\n

The 125 portable units are limited, and residents must apply to be considered.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a proposed ordinance that would require rental properties to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,4626,58,57,143476],"class_list":["post-410893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-city-council","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-right-to-a-c"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}