The Austin City Council adopted a property maintenance code during an April 10 meeting that will require all housing units to have air conditioning.
City officials filed a resolution in 2023 to mandate AC due to heat-related illness and rising temperature concerns. Prior to the code’s implementation, the city required installed AC’s to properly function, but it did not require housing units to have one, according to the resolution. Under the adopted code, property owners must install AC that can maintain room temperatures at least 15 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. Enforcement of the new rule begins July 10, according to a city news release.
“In Austin, you only need to step outside in the summer to see why every home needs air conditioning,” Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, who brought forward the resolution, wrote in an email. “As temperatures rise and risks grow, this initiative will ensure every Austinite has what they need to stay safe, healthy and cool at home.”
The AC systems must be installed in “each habitable room” of a housing unit, according to the code. Habitable spaces include bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms, said Daniel Word, assistant director of the city’s Development Services Department. The code does not require a specific amount of AC units to be installed, he said.
Emily Blair, executive vice president of the Austin Apartment Association, a nonprofit that supports rental housing providers, said she worries that certain owners may not be able to comply with the code because some buildings are older than others.
“Sometimes those properties are owned by smaller, local ownership that doesn’t have big capital reserves,” Blair said. “The financial implications for retrofitting and bringing all of them up to compliance for each habitable space is significant.”
Although Word said retrofitting or modifying buildings to accommodate AC units can be expensive, the city does not require a specific type of AC under the code. Some forms of AC that property owners can install include centralized or portable AC’s, along with window units, he said.
“We wrote it in a manner to provide that flexibility so the property owner has multiple choices and options in terms of how to come into compliance,” Word said. “We want that flexibility to remain with the property owner because we recognize that every building is different.”
If a resident believes their housing unit may be violating the code, Word said they can file a complaint with Austin 311, and an inspector will visit the home. If the unit is not up to compliance, the city will give the property owner a certain amount of days to resolve the issue. However, if the property owner cannot comply by the given time, he said they may be fined depending on the situation.
Word said the code is essential to maintain a minimum standard of safety for occupants.
“It’s an important priority for the city to ensure that everyone that lives here has access to safe and healthy housing,” Word said. “Summers get hotter and hotter. The need for air conditioning is paramount at this point.”
Originally published April 22, 2025, in The Daily Texan
By Laura Rivera
Illustration by Yesenia Davalos
