City finally funds tenant relocation assistance, though program’s future remains uncertain

After leaving the Tenant Relocation Assistance Program without funds for six years, the city has found money in next year’s budget to help tenants displaced because of redevelopment. But without a dedicated funding source, the program’s longevity remains uncertain. On Tuesday, city staffers told the Housing and Planning Committee that the $700,000 earmarked in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget will allow the program to get underway sometime next year, following a search for a nonprofit service provider. The program aims to help residents displaced by redevelopment find new housing, move and store belongings, and temporarily pay rent.

Only lower-income residents (those making 70 percent or less of the median family income, or 80 percent if they live in a mobile home) are eligible. The MFI for a family of four is $110,300. The program is part of an ordinance approved by City Council in 2016. The ordinance requires property owners to provide notice of plans to redevelop, demolish or renovate a property well before residents are affected – 120 days for multifamily buildings and 270 days for mobile home communities if at least five households live on-site. The notice period gives tenants time to figure out moving plans and apply for relocation assistance. Originally, Council had planned to fund the relocation assistance mainly by charging developers a fee. Those plans were stymied in 2017 when the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1449, which prohibited such a fee. Amid this legislative challenge and a tight city budget, the city allocated $500,000 to the program in 2019. Then came the pandemic, and the city instead opted to use the $500,000 for emergency rental assistance, given that so many people had lost their jobs and were struggling to pay rent.