Texas sets no statewide legal temperature for tenants, meaning there is no statute naming a minimum or maximum indoor air temperature a landlord must maintain. Instead, Property Code Chapter 92 requires landlords to repair any condition that materially affects an ordinary tenant’s health or safety, and a broken furnace during a freeze or a dead air conditioner during a Texas summer almost always meets that standard. A handful of cities, including Austin and Houston, have gone further and written exact numbers into local code. What follows is how both layers work and what you can do when the heat or AC stops.
What State Law Actually Requires
The only specific temperature in the Texas landlord-tenant statute applies to hot water. Under Section 92.052, your landlord must supply and maintain a water heater capable of producing water at a minimum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.1State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.052 – Landlord’s Duty to Repair or Remedy For room air, the statute uses the broader health-and-safety test and makes repair the landlord’s duty once you give proper notice and are current on rent.
In practice, a rental without working heat when outside temperatures drop below freezing is not a close call. Code officials and judges treat loss of heat in dangerous weather as exactly the kind of condition the statute targets.
Air conditioning is different. Texas law does not require landlords to provide a cooling system at all. If your lease says nothing about AC and none was supplied at move-in, the state imposes no obligation to install one. This surprises many renters given Texas summers, but it is how the statute reads.
The picture shifts the moment AC is part of the deal. Once a cooling system is written into the lease or provided when you moved in, the landlord has to keep it working. A dead unit in July triggers the same repair duty as any other health-and-safety condition. The landlord cannot leave a provided system broken and point to the absence of a statewide AC mandate.
Cities That Set Specific Numbers
Where the state is silent, several Texas cities have adopted enforceable local standards that apply regardless of lease language.
Austin has one of the most specific rules in the state. As of July 2025, all homes in Austin, including rentals, must maintain indoor air no higher than 85 degrees Fahrenheit and at least 15 degrees cooler than outside.2City of Austin. Code Compliance Resources When outdoor temperatures top 110 degrees, at least one habitable room must stay at or below 85. The city’s code compliance division enforces the rule and can issue fines.
Houston ties cooling requirements to window screens. If a rental has no screens, the landlord must provide a cooling system. If screens are present, indoor temperature must stay at least 20 degrees below the outside temperature.
Most Texas cities have not adopted anything like this. The only way to know whether your city sets a number is to call your local code enforcement or building inspection department and ask.
Public and Subsidized Housing
If you live in public housing or a unit subsidized through a federal program, HUD standards apply on top of state law. Heating equipment in public housing must be capable of maintaining at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit indoors, and during extreme cold the indoor temperature must not fall below 55 degrees. Those federal minimums apply when no state or local heating standard exists, which covers most of Texas. Report shortfalls to your local housing authority alongside following the state notice process below.
How to Trigger the Landlord’s Repair Duty
Before you can hold the landlord legally responsible for a broken heater or AC, you have to follow the notice procedure in Section 92.056. Skip a step and you lose access to the remedies the statute provides.
Rule one: you must be current on rent when you send notice. Owing back rent cancels the landlord’s obligation to respond.3State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.056 – Landlord Liability and Tenant Remedies; Notice and Time for Repair Withholding rent out of frustration will undercut your position.
Send the notice to the person or place where you normally pay rent. If your lease is in writing and requires written notice, your notice has to be in writing too. The strongest approach is certified mail with return receipt requested. If you use certified mail, one notice is enough. If you deliver the first notice any other way, the statute requires a second written notice after a reasonable time passes.3State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.056 – Landlord Liability and Tenant Remedies; Notice and Time for Repair
Describe the problem specifically. “The AC is broken” is weaker than “The central air conditioning stopped producing cold air on June 12. Indoor temperatures in the living room have consistently exceeded 90 degrees between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.” Use a thermometer, log readings with dates and times, and photograph the display. Keep copies of every notice and every response.
The Seven-Day Clock
Once the landlord receives notice, the law presumes seven days is a reasonable time to make the repair. That presumption is rebuttable: the landlord can argue parts were backordered or a licensed technician was unavailable, and a court will weigh the circumstances.3State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.056 – Landlord Liability and Tenant Remedies; Notice and Time for Repair A genuine effort is required, not a shrug.
The Texas Attorney General’s office confirms the timeline: if the landlord has not made a diligent effort within seven days and your first notice was not sent by certified mail, you need to send a second notice.4Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Renter’s Rights This is where tenants most often lose their footing. Certified mail the first time eliminates the second round.
What You Can Do If the Landlord Still Won’t Act
Once the duty is triggered and the notice requirements are met, Texas offers three paths: repair and deduct, court action, or lease termination. Each has limits.
Repair and Deduct
You can hire someone to fix the problem and deduct the cost from your next rent payment. The deduction cannot exceed one month’s rent or $500, whichever is greater, and the process can be repeated in later months if the problem recurs.
For heating and cooling specifically, there is an extra hurdle that trips up many tenants: a local housing, building, or health official has to inspect the unit first and send the landlord written notice that the lack of heat or cooling materially affects tenant health or safety. Only after that official notification can you use repair-and-deduct for HVAC. Call your city’s code enforcement or building inspection office to request the inspection.
Filing a Repair and Remedy Case
If the landlord still has not moved, you can file a Repair and Remedy case in justice court. Filing fees vary by county, and you do not need an attorney, though you can hire one. A judge can order the repair made, reduce your rent proportionally from the date of your first repair notice, award actual damages, and impose a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500. Court costs and attorney’s fees are recoverable. In justice court, judgments are capped at $20,000 excluding interest and costs; larger claims belong in county or district court.5State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.0563 – Tenant’s Judicial Remedies
These cases are won on documentation. Bring your dated temperature log, copies of every notice, the certified mail receipt, and any communication from the landlord.
You’re Protected From Retaliation
Many tenants hesitate to send a repair notice for fear the landlord will raise rent, cut services, or refuse to renew. Section 92.331 directly forbids that. For six months after you request a repair, complain to a code agency, or exercise any other right under the chapter, the landlord cannot file a retaliatory eviction, raise your rent, reduce services, terminate the lease, or engage in a pattern of conduct that interferes with your lease rights.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.331 – Retaliation by Landlord If the landlord retaliates anyway, you have a separate cause of action. The protection does not bar legitimate, non-retaliatory evictions, but it covers tenants who are doing what the statute tells them to do.
When the Landlord Is Not on the Hook
The repair duty has limits. If the heating or cooling system broke because of something you, a family member, or a guest did, the landlord has no obligation to fix it during the lease term.1State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.052 – Landlord’s Duty to Repair or Remedy Normal wear and tear does not count against you. A 15-year-old compressor that fails on its own stays the landlord’s problem.
If the failure comes from an insured casualty like a fire, storm, or explosion, the landlord’s clock does not start until insurance proceeds arrive.7Texas Public Law. Texas Property Code 92.054 – Casualty Loss If the damage leaves the unit essentially uninhabitable and the casualty was not your fault, either party can terminate the lease in writing, and you would be entitled to a prorated rent refund and your security deposit.
If the Problem Is the Bill, Not the System
When the equipment works but you cannot afford to run it, the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program helps with utility costs. CEAP is administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs through local subrecipients covering all 254 counties.8Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) Income eligibility is generally set at 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Find your local provider through the TDHCA’s Help for Texans page or by calling 2-1-1.