Urban Land Institute Austin has weighed in on the draft Land Development Code, with a white paper that asserts the city’s proposed changes in housing types, design standards and affordable housing programs won’t go far enough to add enough new housing to make the city more affordable. The paper, which was released earlier this month, […]
Housing
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Anti-displacement advocates seek $2 billion from tech giants to fund housing
A new consortium of community activists has challenged Austin’s biggest technology employers to step forward with $2 billion to fund programs and nonprofits committed to fighting displacement of working-class residents. The Development Without Displacement Coalition held its first press conference Wednesday morning at City Hall, announcing its intent to open dialogue with representatives from Apple, […]
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Apartment owners, managers learn about options for voucher users in housing crunch
Owners and managers of rental properties throughout Austin recently met with representatives from local housing organizations to learn about the options for making housing units available for those at risk of becoming homeless. An Oct. 31 panel organized by the Austin Apartment Association featured representatives from the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, Caritas […]
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Council OKs tax credits for affordable housing
Council gave its blessing Thursday to an application for low-income housing tax credits issued through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, for the redevelopment of a 62-unit affordable housing project to be known as the Oaks on North Plaza. Such approvals are generally routine and members of the public rarely show up for […]
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Affordable housing takes a few steps forward
Housing prices continue to climb in Austin as more people move to the music and tech mecca of Texas. According to Zillow, the median home value in Austin is $372,200, while the median list price is $399,000. In adopting its Strategic Housing Blueprint, City Council set a goal of adding 135,000 new housing units to […]
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North Lamar Mobile Home Park residents protest landlord negligence
The city of Austin has been working to tackle gentrification head-on through stabilizing mobile home parks throughout the city. This is one avenue to ensure that residents are able to stay, but there are other ways besides incongruent zonings and that make it difficult for residents to remain in their homes. When Frank Rolfe and […]
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City tightens standards for housing development assistance loans
The Austin Housing Finance Corporation plans to be more selective with loan applications and partnerships for its Rental Housing Development Assistance and Ownership Housing Development Assistance programs in the coming years. The programs offer loans to developers promising housing units for a range of economically disadvantaged individuals, from those living in poverty to those who […]
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City finds almost 7,000 unregistered short-term rentals, with enforcement on the way
A vendor hired by the city to determine the number of short-term rental properties active on platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO told the Austin Monitor there are close to 11,000 operators, with less than a quarter of them licensed to comply with city regulations and deliver Hotel Occupancy Tax money to local coffers. The […]
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Disability committee pushes city to help address evictions
Advocates for the disabled community are pushing the city’s departments in charge of housing services to find ways to decrease the number of evictions their community experiences while also adding housing supply designed for accessibility. At this month’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities, a presentation from the city’s Innovation Office and […]
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Families with noncitizens could lose federal housing benefits if HUD proposal moves forward
Tuesday is the last day for public comment on a proposal that could evict or even separate thousands of families with mixed-citizenship status who receive housing assistance in Texas. Since 1980, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has allowed households that include noncitizens to receive benefits for public or subsidized housing. The proposed […]
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Area builders warn of worker shortage impacts on affordable housing
As robust and active as the Austin building and development world appears to be, professionals in the construction industry say an ongoing labor shortage is stifling building activity and could present problems for the city’s push to add affordable housing in the coming years. The city’s affordability issues were among the discussion points Wednesday at […]
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Housing committee hears about district goals
Two years ago this month, Austin City Council adopted its first strategic housing blueprint, with the goal of developing metrics to define how the city should allocate its resources to produce affordable housing for residents earning less than 80 percent of the median family income. Over the next 10 years, the city is aiming to […]