TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

It’s unclear whether landlords face any penalties from state agencies for improperly evicting tenants while receiving rent relief dollars intended to help those tenants stay housed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A year after feds approve funds, Texas launches program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure because of COVID-19

Twenty-five states, including California and New York, preceded Texas in getting...

Twenty-five states, including California and New York, preceded Texas in getting federally backed programs up and running to help homeowners suffering financial hardship because of COVID-19.

The Texas Homeowners Assistance Fund will provide $842.2 million for struggling...

Renters are seeing their housing costs jump as population increases, strict zoning regulations and rising home sales push up rent prices.

Texas shut the door on a massive program to help struggling households make rent and keep the lights on during the COVID-19 pandemic — months before it was expected to run out of money, according to one lawmaker.

The statewide program doled out more than $1.2 billion to 212,344 households. There have been nearly 50,000 eviction filings in Houston since the beginning of the pandemic.

Housing advocates worry some Texans won’t get the help they need as the state enters the cold winter months.

In the first phase of funding from the federal government for emergency rental assistance, Texas received about $2 billion. Now the state has to get those funds in the hands of Texans.

Two new residential projects will help chip away at Brownsville’s persistent shortage of affordable housing: Brownsville Lofts on Central Boulevard and Price Lofts on South Price Road.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has announced awards through the 2021 9% Housing Tax Credit (HTC) Program allocation that will help finance the development or rehabilitation of rental properties offering reduced rents and increased housing options throughout the state.

The extension comes as the federal moratorium on evictions is set to expire on July 31.

State officials plan to roll out a $1.3 billion rental assistance program for Texans struggling to keep up with housing payments during a shaky economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1.6 million Texans had little or no confidence in being able to pay next month's rent, according to a January survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, around 80,000 households will be able to receive assistance. The program comes after renters have spent months depending on local funds and nonprofit organizations for rental assistance. We are finally getting a rental assistance program to the scale and the magnitude of the crisis," said Eli Barrish, policy analyst at the housing advocacy organization Texas Housers.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs expects that 80,000 households could benefit from a new rental assistance program. State officials plan to roll out a $1.3 billion rental assistance program for Texans struggling to keep up with housing payments during a shaky economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, around 80,000 households will be able to receive assistance. The program comes after renters have spent months depending on local funds and nonprofit organizations for rental assistance. We are finally getting a rental assistance program to the scale and the magnitude of the crisis,” said Eli Barrish, policy analyst at the housing advocacy organization Texas Housers.

That remaining planned prohibition has some homeless organizations saying the proposed rule will still make it hard to get homeless people into "supportive housing" developments. Supportive housing projects are funded through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, which give developers tax benefits in exchange for building homes that are leased at below-market rates. These projects are only one kind of housing created by the housing program, but advocates said they are key to fighting homelessness. The first version of the rule, advocates said, forced new developments to automatically deny applicants. Samuels said that he valued these changes but would have preferred no state-mandated requirement for applicants to supportive housing at all.

Advocates for homeless Texans worry a new state rule barring people with certain criminal records from some tax-supported housing will cut homeless people off from a path to permanent housing. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is proposing that people with certain criminal convictions be temporarily or permanently blocked from living in tax-supported “supportive housing” developments. Supportive housing is only one kind of the housing created by the housing program, but advocates said it is key to fighting homelessness. Advocates say there is no data that shows that supportive housing projects increase crime in neighborhoods. Some of these homes are built for people experiencing chronic homelessness who, without supportive services, won't be able to get back on their feet.