Recap: 6/11 State and Local Tenant Protections Network Call Focused on Cooling Protections

On June 11, NLIHC hosted the latest iteration of its bi-monthly State and Local Tenant Protections Network call. Joined by Dr. Brian Henning, founder and director of the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment at Gonzaga University, as well as Julia Orduna, the southeast regional director at Texas Housers, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about state and local efforts to advance cooling protections in Spokane, Washington and in several localities across the state of Texas.  

During the call, presenters shared with the audience proposed legislation that has been introduced in both Washington and Texas to protect renter households during periods of extreme heat. The presenters shared the core provisions of these bills, which are available below, including the importance of advancing cooling protections, as well as the importance of connecting with researchers and housing advocates to make the case for cooling protections. The presenters also provided information on additional cities and localities that have introduced similar protections. 

Register for NLIHC’s recurring State and Local Tenant Protections Network call here! 

Meeting Resources and Information 

• Gonzaga University’s Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment’s website 
• Texas Low Income Housing Information Service (Texas Housers) website
• Introduced legislation in Washington to allow tenants the right to install cooling devices
• Introduced legislation in Washington to guarantee tenants the right to cooling
• Introduced legislation in Spokane, Washington, to guarantee tenants the right to cooling
• Introduced legislation in Houston, Texas, to institute an apartment inspection pilot
• Introduced legislation in San Antonio, Texas, to institute a proactive apartment inspection program
• NLIHC’s resource on natural hazards in federally assisted housing. 
• UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation’s new toolkit on creating heat resilient communities
• National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) heat mapping tool

Contact Information for Presenters 

• NLIHC’s Research team, [email protected] 
• Dr. Brian Henning, Gonzaga University, [email protected] 
• Julia Orduna, Texas Housers, [email protected] 

Do you have a topic you are interested in learning more about during one of NLIHC’s State and Local Tenant Protections Network calls? Please reach out to [email protected] and share your insight!