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Housing
With affordability funding looming, housing proponents have questions
With housing project applicants angling for portions of the city’s coming $250 million in general obligation bonds for affordable housing, city leaders charged with finding the right mix of new units are starting to wrestle with questions of how much…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 8, 2019
A big problem for low-income homeowners: septic tanks
For the most part, living in rural Travis County is cheaper than living in the city of Austin. Land values, property taxes and rents are all significantly lower. Sewage, however, often costs significantly more. The problems and costs associated with…
Housing • By Jack Craver • Apr 1, 2019
County celebrates major renovations of affordable housing communities
The Housing Authority of Travis County hosted a ribbon-cutting celebration Thursday morning to honor the completion of the $10.4 million rehabilitation of two of its affordable housing communities. The project involved improvements to 51 units at Alexander Oaks in Oak…
Housing • By Ryan Thornton • Mar 22, 2019
Lessons for Austin abound in cities where crises produced affordable housing
The good news about Austin’s growing housing affordability crisis – if there can be such a thing – is that the city hasn’t suffered a natural disaster or a financial meltdown that would serve as the impetus to build new…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 13, 2019
Council passes resolution to ease regulations on affordable housing projects
City Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday aimed at producing more affordable housing units in the city by easing regulations on subsidized developments. The resolution, authored by Council Member Greg Casar, instructs city staff to draft an ordinance that will…
Housing • By Jack Craver • Feb 22, 2019
City has tough decisions on affordable housing bond
The city’s affordable housing challenges were thrown into sharp relief during a presentation Tuesday morning by the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department to members of City Council. The presentation was before Council’s Housing and Planning Committee, but the chair,…
Housing • By Jack Craver • Feb 13, 2019
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Workforce housing group eyes four apartment complex purchases in 2019
An investment group focused on preserving workforce housing units around Austin has announced plans to add 1,200 more apartment units to its portfolio in 2019. The Austin Housing Conservancy Fund expects to purchase four apartment complexes around the city this…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Jan 17, 2019
As shutdown drags on, low-income housing providers in Austin worry funding for rent could run out
Prak Property Management Inc. has been digging into savings to keep some of its low-income properties in Austin running. “It’s like a savings account that every month we are required to put a certain amount of dollars into for things…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jan 15, 2019
Arbitrator rules against city contractor in home repair case
An independent arbitrator has ruled in favor of a homeowner who accused a contractor hired by the city of not doing the necessary work to repair her home and ultimately leaving her house in worse shape than it was originally.…
Courts • By Jack Craver • Jan 4, 2019
After being stymied by Abbott, Council moves ahead on east side housing initiative
Hobbled by Gov. Greg Abbott in their attempts to create more homestead preservation districts that would set aside tax revenue for affordable housing in gentrifying areas, a number of City Council members are trying to maximize the impact of the…
Housing • By Jack Craver • Dec 5, 2018
Council members offer mixed reviews of displacement task force recommendations
City Council took its first look Tuesday at a long list of recommendations from a task force focused on reducing displacement of Austin’s low- and middle-income populations. The report that was unanimously approved by the Anti-Displacement Task Force includes 107…
Housing • By Jack Craver • Nov 28, 2018
Real estate group backs land trusts to preserve affordable housing
With Austin voters about to decide whether the city commits $250 million to increase the local supply of affordable housing, a real estate research group has come out in strong support of cultural land trusts as a tool to prevent…
