Housing quality affects residents’ health, finances and overall well-being, yet little data exists on this issue in the Houston area. The Kinder Institute’s Housing Quality Registry is helping to fill this gap, with early findings from nearly 1,000 residents revealing varied housing conditions.
Data came from two sources: a targeted survey of residents in Kashmere Gardens and Alief in April 2024 and an open survey for all Houston-area residents from January–March 2025. Kashmere Gardens and Alief were chosen because improving housing quality is a priority in their community plans. While not representative of all area residents, the results highlight common housing challenges and the need for more representative research.
The Housing Quality Registry is continuing to collect information from Houston-area residents to provide more robust data and analysis for community partners.
Key findings
- Overall, common issues include:
- Concerns about drinking water quality (65%)
- Water damage not caused by flooding (51%)
- Poor window insulation (33%)
- Mold or other pollutants (33%)
- Termites (20%)
- Unreliable heating (12%)
- Uneven floors (10%)
- Kashmere Gardens and Alief share many housing challenges with other neighborhoods, especially concerns about drinking water and poor window insulation
- A disproportionate number of Kashmere Gardens residents report inadequate home insulation, unreliable heating, uneven floors, flooding and termites
- About 1 in 10 homes overall had flooded before residents moved in, and 14% had flooded since
- Most residents feel mostly or very safe at home; about 1 in 5 only feel somewhat safe
Suggested citations
Potter, D., Tobin, A., & Dawson, L. (2025). Housing Quality Registry: Preliminary data and results on housing challenges facing the Houston area. Houston, TX: Houston Population Research Center, Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25611/ZGM0-6985
Potter, D., Tobin, A., & Dawson, L. (2025). Housing Quality Registry: An initial look across neighborhoods in the Houston area. Houston, TX: Houston Population Research Center, Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25611/7EMM-Q273
