Austin reopens applications for people who need help paying rent

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Low-income renters struggling to afford their monthly rent can now apply to get help from the city. Austin has about $3.6 million to dole out, after City Council members approved a new budget earlier this year.

Applications opened this past Friday, Nov. 1, and will stay open for about a week, closing at 5 p.m. Nov. 7.

To qualify, households must earn less than the local median family income. For a home of four people, that’s no more than $97,800 a year. Tenants must also prove they have struggled to pay rent, which could include a copy of an eviction notice or proof of a recent job loss. Renters must live in the city of Austin.

Renters who qualify will be chosen through a lottery system, and each household can receive up to $6,000. The money will be paid directly to the landlord, so renters’ landlords also need to be willing to participate in the program.

The city, which is partnering with the nonprofit El Buen Samaritano, anticipates helping 480 households pay their rent with this latest round of funding.

The money is available as rent prices in the city have been falling for more than a year. Yet despite this drop, many renters still live in housing they struggle to afford.

Earlier this year, the city finished handing out roughly $12 million in rent assistance to about 1,900 households. But the city received more than 7,000 applications for help and eventually had to shutter the application portal in February.

The city began a rental assistance program at the start of the pandemic, when thousands of people in Austin were suddenly out of work and struggling to pay for housing. At that time, the city coffers were buoyed by federal funding, and so they could make available much larger pots of money.

A spokesperson told KUT News that those who have applied for money in the past but didn’t receive it will not remain in the system and are encouraged to reapply.

Support for KUT’s reporting on housing news comes from the Austin Community Foundation. Sponsors do not influence KUT’s editorial decisions.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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