Four corporate landlords, including Dallas-based Invitation Homes, tried to evict thousands of tenants during a federal ban on evictions, according to an investigation by a congressional subcommittee.
housing
Posted in
Homeless in Texas
Homeless Texans left with few places to cool off during record heat
Heat-related emergency calls have spiked amid historic heat. Cooling centers are available in major cities but often close in the late afternoon — during the hottest parts of the day.
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State Government
A neighborhood’s new anti-Section 8 rules will push many Black residents out of a North Texas suburb
Landlords in Texas don’t have to accept renters who receive federal housing assistance, but a Denton County community is taking it a big step further: making most of the town off limits to Section 8 tenants.
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T-Squared
T-Squared: Lucy Tompkins is joining us as a New York Times Headway fellow
A Montana native and a former Fulbright fellow, Lucy will cover housing and homelessness in Texas in the second year of her two-year fellowship.
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Economy
Austin becomes first Texas city to test a taxpayer-funded “guaranteed income” program
Austin joins at least 28 U.S. cities, like Los Angeles, Chicago and Pittsburgh, that have tried out some form of “guaranteed income” — financial assistance targeted at needy households.
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Economy
Eviction filings in Texas’ major cities reach new highs since pandemic began
Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin all ranked among the top 10 cities for new eviction filings in early April, among the 31 cities tracked by Eviction Lab.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Some landlords got a piece of Texas’ $2 billion in rent relief money — and evicted their struggling tenants anyway
It’s unclear whether landlords face any penalties from state agencies for improperly evicting tenants while receiving rent relief dollars intended to help those tenants stay housed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Economy
A year after feds allocate funds, Texas launches program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure because of COVID-19
Twenty-five states, including California and New York, preceded Texas in getting federally backed programs up and running to help homeowners suffering financial hardship because of COVID-19.
Posted in
Economy
Texas tenants hit with soaring rent increases see little relief in sight
Renters are seeing their housing costs jump as population increases, strict zoning regulations and rising home sales push up rent prices.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Home prices soared during the pandemic. Here’s what that looks like in one East Texas city.
Texas’ housing crunch has spread outside of the state’s major metropolitan areas and into more rural parts of Texas. Smaller cities and towns saw steep increases in home prices as COVID-19 spread.
