Housing

Housing staff suggest ADU pilot program aimed at 80% MFI households

City housing staff say a publicly-funded program to help homeowners build accessory dwelling units would likely see limited uptake and may fall short of the city’s affordability goals, particularly for households most at risk of displacement. In a recent memo…

Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 22, 2025

City eyes fund to preserve affordable housing, capitalize on overbuilt apartment market

In talking about the possibility of establishing a city fund specifically for preserving existing affordable housing stock, Council Member Marc Duchen said part of the motivation is to give the city more tools to step in before property owners decide…

Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 15, 2025

As Acacia Cliffs rezoning is approved, Critics say Council has sold out on its affordability commitments

The zoning reforms that have come to define our City Council are having a moment in the spotlight, earning shout outs from Vice President J.D. Vance and New York Times bestseller Ezra Klein, whose recent book Abundance presents an approach…

Housing • By Kali Bramble • Jun 12, 2025

A proposed apartment demolition has some questioning Austin affordable housing program

A city program meant to ensure affordable housing is built into new developments is facing criticism for its potential to displace more than 200 residents already living in affordable units in a West Austin complex. Now, they’re asking the city…

Housing • By Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT • May 21, 2025

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City plans navigator expansion, financing tools for HOME initiative

City housing leaders have found that efforts to expand and improve access to Austin’s HOME initiative are progressing on multiple fronts, with program refinements, interdepartmental coordination and new support strategies underway. A recent memo from the Housing Department outlines these…

Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • May 12, 2025

SMART housing to see changes in “phase two” of City Council-initiated review

A city incentive program intended to produce “Safe, Mixed-use, Accessible, Reasonably-priced and Transit-oriented” housing may be getting a little smarter with changes working their way towards City Council. The Housing Department is proposing four amendments to improve the “operation and…

Housing • By Miles Wall • May 6, 2025

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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.…

Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 2, 2025

City eyes strategy shifts to address affordable housing shortfalls

City staff members are evaluating the idea of investing more in housing as well as other strategies to address shortfalls in key areas of the Strategic Housing Blueprint, including deeply affordable housing and permanent supportive housing. A memo released this…

Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 17, 2025

Facing displacement, Acacia Cliffs apartment tenants mobilize at City Hall

Plans to redevelop an apartment complex in Northwest Austin are off to a rocky start, drawing a crowd to City Hall last week with demands for more concessions to displaced tenants. Acacia Cliffs residents and their neighbors took to the…

Housing • By Kali Bramble • Apr 16, 2025

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,…

Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Mar 27, 2025

Eviction crisis spreads as affordability pressures worsen

A record-breaking 13,210 evictions were filed in Travis County in 2024, according to a memo released last week from BASTA (Building and Strengthening Tenant Action), a project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. The memo, a snapshot with key evictions-related findings…

Housing • By Madeline de Figueiredo • Mar 24, 2025

SXSW panelists examine causes, effects of the city's lack of Black homeowners

A South by Southwest panel discussion earlier this week didn’t gloss over the challenges Black communities in Austin face if they’re not already owners of highly valuable residential real estate. During the panel Advancing Black Homeownership Through Housing Equity, Habitat…

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Housing staff suggest ADU pilot program aimed at 80% MFI households

Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 22, 2025

City eyes fund to preserve affordable housing, capitalize on overbuilt apartment market

Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 15, 2025