A rental relief program from the city of Austin has so far helped more than 750 residents access nearly $900,000 to cover rental costs for up to three months.
The city introduced a new dashboard Wednesday that showcases how much rental relief money has been distributed since late August when the program debuted. The Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants, or RENT, program aims to provide rental aid to low-income residents who have been impacted by COVID-19.
But that's only a fraction of the $12.9 million allocated for rental relief efforts. As of Thursday morning, 776 recipients out of 2,600 applicants have received $897,698 in approved rental assistance. That means only 29.8% of applicants have qualified for rental assistance.
The typical household received $1,095 toward monthly rent, according to the dashboard, which also breaks down recipients per ZIP code, industry, ace/ethnicity, as well as household size and income.
Approved applicants have their rental money distributed directly to their landlord. Also, only those making between 0% and 30% of Austin's median family income qualify for rental assistance all three months. Anyone making between 30% to 80% of the median family income only qualify for one month of relief.
To better promote the RENT program, the city has partnered with nonprofit organizations to assist renters in the application process. The city announced Wednesday it spent $400,000 to partner with these community organizations, which focus outreach efforts on the following factors:
Low-income residents in ZIP codes with high COVID-19 rates
- Black and Latinx
- Large households or families with children
- People with disabilities
- Veterans
- People with limited English proficiency
According to the city, recipients are selected randomly from the pool of qualified applicants. Such drawings occur "periodically over the comings months" or until the $12.9 million relief fund dries up.
"All applications, regardless of when they are submitted, will be given equal chance in the selection process," the city's website states.
Qualifications also balance household size with income, as applicants cannot make more than 80% of the city's median family income. Want to know if you qualify? Follow this basic breakdown to see if your household income is lower than the maximum threshold:
- I person=$54,700
- 2 people=$62,500
- 3 people=$70,300
- 4 people=$78,100
- 5 people=$84,350
- 6 people=$90,600
Also, be ready to show evidence that COVID-19 has created financial hardships, such as paystubs and unemployment notices.
For more information about the relief program and eviction information, visit the RENT assistance homepage.
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Homeless residents have set up tents on Cesar Chavez Street near the historic Buford Tower, which caught fire earlier this month after a blaze spread from the neighboring camp. (Emma Freer)
Spearheaded by the political action committee Save Austin Now, Prop B is a direct response to City Council's 2019 decision to overturn a 23-year-old ban on such activities. This is the second time the group has tried to get the issue on the ballot since the first petition was ruled invalid by the county clerk for duplicate signatures and other issues last year. Homeless advocates campaigned against the ban, arguing that it criminalized homelessness and led to citations and tickets that prevented homeless people from accessing housing, employment and other resources. Since then, the city's homeless population has grown in size and visibility.
SAN, advocates and council members generally agree that the situation is untenable, but they disagree about the ban's merit. Austinites who are directly impacted—including people who live near camps, downtown business owners and homeless residents—feel similarly embattled, telling Austonia that, regardless of how they plan to vote, not enough is being done to house the homeless.
Word on the street
Lisa Novak bought a condo in the East Riverside neighborhood in 2013, drawn in by its affordability and Guerrero Park. She attributes the increase in camping along the Riverside Drive median to council's decision to repeal the ban. "It turned into open season," she said.
Novak worries about the recent spate of fires and how camps affect area business owners and incoming tourists. After her husband witnessed a violent exchange between two panhandlers, the couple stopped walking to their neighborhood H-E-B. She will vote for Prop B and disagrees with advocates who say it criminalizes homelessness. "I'm sorry, but as a member of society there are certain rules and regulations," she said.
Kevin Ludlow's Windsor Park home sits right behind a long-time homeless camp along Little Tannehill Branch Creek. He estimates he has spent hundreds of hours talking to city staff, council members, nonprofits and police about trash and safety concerns.
Ludlow is undecided on Prop B. He thinks a ban will address these issues, but he also feels police could be more responsive to reports of theft, vandalism and other crimes without penalizing campers who are otherwise law-abiding. "There's no winning hand, and I feel it's by design," he said.
David Kruger, fourth-generation owner of Kruger's Diamond Jewelers on Congress Avenue, is similarly ambivalent. Although homeless residents often camp out in his entryway, his issue is with city leadership, whom he feels are incapable of developing solutions. "I'm probably going to vote in favor of it, I guess, but I'd feel better if there was another item that addressed the problem," he said, comparing Prop B to trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.
Christopher Carr, a member of the Austin Homeless Advisory Committee who has been intermittently homeless since graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in the 1990s, is more decisive. A poet who loves opera and has bipolar disorder, he camps near the intersection of 15th and San Antonio streets. When the ban was in effect, he was often harassed by police he says. "You felt like you might have a few seconds before the cops showed up (if you sat down on a sidewalk)," he said.
Since the ban was lifted, Carr feels Austin's housed residents have turned against the homeless: "If you don't like seeing all these tents everywhere, why don't you not like the country where this level of indigency exists?"
A stopgap measure
Save Austin Now argues that repealing the ban has adversely impacted public safety, residents and businesses and left homeless people to live in unsafe conditions. Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association and SAN board member, added that the council vote left residents out of the process. "For me, the big issue is 'let the citizens vote,'" he said. "If the citizens vote down Prop B, we'll live with it."
But the May 1 election is likely not the end of this debate. Texas lawmakers are considering a statewide ban on public camping in a clear rebuke of local policy.
Chris Harris, director of Texas Appleseed's Criminal Justice Project and an activist who helped overturn the ban in 2019, argued that the decision has made homelessness more visible, leading to greater investment by the city and nonprofits. "No matter what happens with Prop B or with these bills at the Legislature, our community can't forget about this issue," he said. "We decriminalized homelessness not because we saw it as a solution to homelessness but because we thought it was (an issue of) right-or-wrong."
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