Left in the cold: These Houston residents report lack of safe, reliable heating in winter

About 1 in 8 Harris County residents report having no safe, reliable heat at home. Early findings from the Kinder Institute's Housing Quality Registry reveal that lower-income neighborhoods — especially Kashmere Gardens on Houston's northeast side — face the sharpest heating gaps. The data is helping local nonprofits and agencies decide where to direct help.

The Housing Quality Registry is an ongoing survey run by Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. It tracks conditions inside Harris County homes. Early results from about 930 respondents show: roughly 1 in 8 residents lack safe, reliable heat; 1 in 4 report poor insulation; and 1 in 3 have windows that let the cold in. In Kashmere Gardens — where the typical home is about 75 years old — about 1 in 3 respondents reported no safe, reliable heat. Lower-income households earning under $50,000 a year reported heating problems at a rate of about 18%, compared to just 1% of households earning over $100,000.

Use this information to understand how widespread home heating problems are in your community. If you or a neighbor are dealing with heating trouble, local nonprofits like BakerRipley, Rebuilding Together Houston, and West Street Recovery offer weatherization and home repair help. If you heat your home with a portable or space heater, install a carbon monoxide detector — it can save your life. You can also add your voice to the Housing Quality Registry survey, which is still open to all Harris County residents.

No fixed date

Not location-specific

This issue connects to broader housing quality concerns in Harris County, including drinking water quality, water damage, and aging housing stock. It also ties into Houston's emergency preparedness efforts following recent severe winter weather events. Local nonprofits and city and state agencies are key partners in addressing these gaps.

Cold indoor temperatures can worsen physical and mental health — especially for older adults. Makeshift heat sources like gas-powered space heaters can also release dangerous levels of carbon monoxide if used in poorly ventilated spaces. Houston has seen life-threatening cold in 2021, 2024, 2025, and 2026, so this is not a rare concern.