The county is receiving $10.7 million in federal relief funds from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, designated for an emergency rental assistance program, or ERAP. In January it was announced that the county would receive the funding and yesterday the Commissioners Court unanimously approved implementation of the program. Sherri Fleming, county […]
Housing
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Home repair funds increased to fix storm damage
In response to the unprecedented damage to homes caused by winter storm Uri, Austin Water has transferred $1 million to the city’s Housing and Planning Department to help Austinites repair ruptured water lines. The city already had a program to help low-income families needing home repairs called Go Repair, but the new program is being designed […]
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Planning commissioners: We’re not building enough affordable housing
Planning commissioners expressed concern this week about the lack of progress made toward the city’s affordable housing production goals. The discussion followed a presentation of the recently released Strategic Housing Blueprint Scorecard, which shows how much affordable housing has been created in relation to the blueprint‘s annual targets. “Yes, we’re building more affordable housing,” said Commissioner […]
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Austin and Travis County extend eviction bans (again), say more rent help is coming
Citing a continuing public health crisis that could only worsen if people have to leave their homes, Austin-area officials have extended protections against most evictions through April 1. “Keeping people inside and housed curbs the spread of the virus,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said via a virtual press conference Thursday. “Ensuring housing stability contributes […]
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County endorses Decker Lake affordable housing project
The Travis County Commissioners Court held a public hearing Tuesday regarding a developer’s application for a Resolution of No Objection for the Decker Lake Apartments, which, if approved, will be located on Decker Lake Road, adjacent to the Travis County Expo Center. Though the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the resolution, recently elected Commissioner Ann […]
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The city is closing shelters it set up for homeless Austinites during Covid. Residents want to know when.
Last Wednesday, Helen Davis was in St. Louis, tired, sore and 825 miles from home without bus fare or a place to stay. As cars whizzed by, she wracked her brain, trying to think of an excuse – something to tell the bus driver so he’d let her on for free. She’d tried to pay […]
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Austin created a program to pay struggling tenants’ rent. Some say it added to stress.
Petra Antonio and her husband, Domingo Quiroz, got Covid-19 in September. Antonio said she felt OK, but Quiroz had a fever and a cough that kept him awake at night. He wanted to avoid going to the hospital, because he believed from news reports that if you’re sick enough with the coronavirus to need hospitalization, […]
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Hinojosa tries again for inclusionary zoning
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, is trying once again to repeal the state law that prevents Texas cities from using an affordable housing tool known as inclusionary zoning. Inclusionary zoning programs allow cities to require developers to provide housing for low-income residents when they request zoning changes. Only Texas, Arizona and Tennessee currently prohibit inclusionary […]
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Concerned that money will go unspent, Austin makes changes to its rent help program
Renters affected financially by the Covid-19 pandemic can now apply for up to six months of rent from the city’s rent assistance program, where previously they could apply for only up to three. The change comes as the city worries it won’t be able to distribute millions in funds by a federally imposed deadline. “The […]
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Austin’s got millions to help with rent, but giving it away is harder than expected
The city of Austin says fewer people have applied for rental assistance than expected. It’s given out just $1.3 million so far of roughly $13 million available for tenants hit financially by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The need that was anticipated has not manifested. We are hearing stories but we’re not seeing it,” Nefertitti Jackmon, housing […]
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Affordable housing proposals advance after outcry over gentrification, institutional racism
Charges of institutional racism and bias in housing policy engulfed a pair of votes at the Austin Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors meeting Thursday. The board, which is made up of all of the members of the Austin City Council, considered requests to authorize negotiating and executing agreements with development teams on two affordable […]
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City’s RENT 2.0 program ramps up
After its launch earlier this summer, the second round of the city’s rental assistance program is gaining steam. The Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants, or RENT, program provides direct rental assistance to residents financially hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic. The first iteration of the RENT program disbursed $1.2 million to almost 1,700 families earlier […]