A judge has ruled against an environmental group that sued the city of Austin, alleging elected officials violated state law with their vote allowing redevelopment along the shores of Lady Bird Lake. Travis County judge Jan Soifer did not include a reason for her ruling. Save Our Springs Alliance had argued that, by not adequately advertising the scope of […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inDevelopment
Texas lawmakers finalize bill limiting property owners’ right to protest new homes nearby
Property owners in Texas hoping to stop or stall new housing next door will soon find it harder to do so. Texas lawmakers finalized a bill last week that loosens a little-known state law guaranteeing homeowners the right to protest zoning changes in their neighborhoods. A zoning change is when a landowner asks for the […]
Posted inHousing
Roughly 3,200 people experience homelessness in Austin on any given night
Just over 3,200 people in Austin and Travis County slept in tents, shelters or cars on one night in January. That’s about 800 more people, or a 36% increase, compared to 2023, the last time a homeless count was done. Cities and towns that want to qualify for certain grants are required by the federal […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin requires all homes to have working air conditioning
Ahead of Austin’s scorching summer months, City Council members adopted a property maintenance code Thursday that requires all homes in the city to have functioning air conditioning. The new rule does not require property owners to have central air conditioning. But owners are required to have some form of air conditioning equipment, such as window units, […]
Posted inHousing
Austin churches answer prayers for affordable housing – by building it themselves
Standing at a pulpit on a Sunday morning in March, the Rev. Daryl Horton of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in East Austin prayed for a swift approval of building permits. An ask that, as anyone familiar with municipal bureaucracy knows, requires nothing short of a God-given miracle. “Y’all keep praying for the city as those […]
Posted inFire
As wildfire anxiety grows, Austin plans to designate half the city as at risk of fire damage
Austin plans to greatly expand the amount of land, and therefore homes, considered at risk of wildfire damage. City Council members are scheduled to discuss updating rules surrounding Austin’s WUI, or Wildland-Urban Interface, later this month. This is the area where wilderness and development meet, and where there is a higher risk that a fire […]
Posted inHousing
U.S. accuses six landlords of rent price fixing. See which apartments they own in Austin.
Lee esta historia en español Tens of thousands of renters in the Austin area may have had their rents set by landlords accused of using software to illegally fix prices, according to a Department of Justice lawsuit and an analysis of data by KUT. Last summer, the Department of Justice sued Texas-based software company RealPage, accusing it of […]
Posted inHousing
Austin went on a land-buying spree in 2020. So far, little has been built on it.
Lee esta historia en español As Austin was coordinating Covid-19 test centers and trying to secure personal protective equipment at the start of the pandemic, it was also buying land. Lots of it. Thirteen acres by July 2020. Another 3 acres that fall. Six more acres in December. By the end of 2020, the city […]
Posted inHousing
After a decline last year, Travis County homeowners should expect a return to rising property taxes
Lee esta historia en español As Austin-area homeowners receive their latest property tax bills this winter, they should expect to see an increase. According to an analysis by the Travis County Tax Office, the average property tax bill this year for homeowners who live in their homes is $1,123 higher than last year, or about […]
Posted inElections
Watson is ahead in election for Austin mayor, but it’s unclear if he’ll avoid a runoff
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson is ahead in the city’s mayoral race with just over 50% of the vote, according to unofficial voting totals. It appears the incumbent might be able to eke out an outright win over his four opponents and avoid a runoff election in December. But voters may not have final results for […]
Posted inHousing
Austin reopens applications for people who need help paying rent
Lee esta historia en español 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, […]
Posted inAustin
Youth homelessness has increased rapidly in Austin, according to nonprofit data
The number of young people experiencing homelessness in Travis County, which includes most of Austin, has risen substantially in the past four years, according to numbers from a nonprofit that tracks the issue. Since 2020, the number of people under 25 years old without permanent housing and not under the care of a parent or […]