Texas Housers joins Texas Tenants’ Union in call for $100 billion in emergency rent relief
We have joined with our partners at Texas Tenants’ Union and Texas Homeless Network in ensuring that the COVID-19 crisisContinue Reading
Category: State issues
Texas Housers comments on Houston’s Analysis of Impediments outline the necessary action behind the city’s talk
On April 16, Texas Housers submitted comments alongside Texas Appleseed on Houston’s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. EveryContinue Reading
Tenants send letter to governor requesting ability to order groceries online with SNAP benefits during pandemic
(Note: Community navigator Ericka Bowman contributed to this blog) It is hard enough living in a food desert. Add aContinue Reading
Texas Housers calls on governor to provide bold leadership to help Texans keep their homes amid health crisis
Gov. Greg Abbott announced yesterday that he and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs have taken initial actionContinue Reading
Texas Housers sends governor, statewide officials housing recommendations to support Texans amid COVID-19 crisis
Communities across Texas continue to grapple with widespread effects of COVID-19. The virus has upended community gatherings, closed schools, restaurantsContinue Reading
Read Texas Housers’ statement on COVID-19 preparedness and protections in the State of Texas
When Texans are confronted with rising floodwater, violent tornadoes, or other threats, we have shown that we band together toContinue Reading
Texas ranks near last in affordable and available housing for the lowest income renters, new report shows
This week, the National Low Income Housing Coalition released their 2020 edition of The Gap report, which annually evaluates theContinue Reading
Cleanup of Donna Lake to officially commence in March, due to pressure from ARISE, LUPE, and local allies
Texas Housers has worked for years in the Rio Grande Valley, partnering with motivated organizations like LUPE and ARISE, toContinue Reading
I-45 expansion in Houston offers little to numerous displaced residents, Texas Housers outlines in comments to TxDOT
The proposed expansion of I-45 in Houston, officially known as the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), is a primeContinue Reading
Harvey Forgotten Survivor Caucus show the long road to disaster recovery with their first ‘home tour’ (VIDEO)
On January 16, a group of residents who have come together to utilize their collective power under the name Harvey ForgottenContinue Reading
Substandard colonias are an enduring result of housing segregation that we can fix
The challenge of substandard colonias are not unique to the border or even our era, but are actually an ageContinue Reading
The distribution of Texas’ disaster recovery funds exemplifies inequity. Here’s how we told the State to fix it.
There is a painful misconception in disaster recovery that is sometimes used as an excuse to maintain the status quo:Continue Reading
‘Unsafe. Unsanitary. Unequal.’ is a digital experience from Texas Housers detailing segregation in Houston’s Project-Based Section 8 Housing
In 2019, Texas Housers spent the entire year documenting the disadvantages for Black tenants in HUD-subsidized, Project-Based Section 8 RentalContinue Reading
Disaster Recovery in Houston is a tangled mess. This is what I learned that needs to change in my first six months.
Julia Orduña is Texas Housers’ Community Navigator in the greater Houston area. She is sharing her initial impressions of workingContinue Reading
The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019 succeeds in the House of Representatives, but more work lies ahead
The Federal Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019 (RDRA) passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 18, 2019Continue Reading
Episode 21: The Stink Of Unequal Sewage
Housing inequality can often manifest in ways that many do not think of and some take for granted. For example,Continue Reading
Texas is below average nationwide in required affordability for LIHTC properties. TDHCA is charging to change that.
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is the largest source of funding for affordable multifamily property development andContinue Reading
Houston neighborhoods of color should be supported under the Clean Water Act, but they aren’t. Here is how Texas Housers thinks the state should fix that.
Texas Housers recently submitted comments to the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Department of Justice regarding the consent decree betweenContinue Reading
Episode 18: The Power of Renters
More than one-third of households in Texas are renters, and in Austin, more than half of residents rent their homes.Continue Reading
Here is how the Seven Principles for Disaster Recovery could be a roadmap to repair following Hurricane Dorian
The harsh toll Hurricane Dorian took on the Bahamas, Southeastern United States, and Atlantic Canada is a cruel, but unfortunatelyContinue Reading
Houston’s I-45 expansion deeply damages life for low-income residents. Upholding the Four Rights could help them.
In 2015, partners of Texas Housers developed the Four Rights as a framework to discuss and practice fair housing. ThoseContinue Reading
Lubbock’s zoning has a history of Jim Crow. City officials refuse to reckon with it.
Untangling a century of discrimination takes hard, dedicated work. For nearly two years, neighborhoods in Lubbock’s East and North Side haveContinue Reading
HUD is giving Fort Worth an Envision Center when its at-risk neighborhoods need a clear vision for their fraught future
“Housing assistance should be more than just putting a roof over someone’s head,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson told a FortContinue Reading
Report details the cumulative trauma of family violence and natural disaster during Hurricane Harvey
In a natural disaster, it is vital to act as quickly as possible to help those most vulnerable first. SomeContinue Reading
Texas Housers and Texas Appleseed urge HUD to follow established law in joint comment on mixed-status families
HUD’s proposal to disrupt the lives of mixed immigration status families is both contradictory to meaning of the law intendedContinue Reading
The expansion of Interstate 45 is harming low-income communities in Houston. Here’s what can be done to fix that.
For the past several months, Texas Housers and our partners have been tracking the public concern around the expansion ofContinue Reading
TxDOT’S Historical Resources Report Omits Houston’s Independence Heights
For more than 14 years, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been planning the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP),Continue Reading
RAPIDO is now a proven solution for disaster home rebuilding that is rapid, efficient, and just – let’s use it!
On June 12, 2019 at an open house for the final RAPIDO test home in Houston, Texas Housers co-director JohnContinue Reading
Disaster survivors often faced double the financial toll when rebuilding their homes. A new law now ensures that won’t happen.
Following a natural disaster, a survivor’s road back to normal can be long and difficult. If they are lucky enoughContinue Reading
Late fees can destabilize renters struggling to get by. These punishing bills empowering landlords endanger them further.
Long-established Texas laws that have protected tenants for years from paying punitive and unreasonable late fees for overdue rent areContinue Reading