Housing

 

WHAT IS HOUSING?

Housing exists in many forms: single family homes, apartments, duplexes, cooperative housing, single room occupancy housing, and condominiums. In addition to these more traditional forms of housing, there are institutional types of housing, such as student housing, nursing homes, prisons, and mental health hospitals. For approximately 3,600 homeless individuals in Travis County, housing means emergency shelters, campsites, public parks or bridges, cars, and living with friends or relatives.

Issues in Housing:

For thousands of Travis County residents, safe, accessible, and affordable housing is just a dream. Throughout the county, there are neighborhoods where overcrowded homes are commonplace. Although most people cannot imagine living in situations like this, there are cases in which ten people live in a small two-bedroom apartment. There are also many houses where the only household toilet doesn't flush, the kitchen sink doesn't work, or rodents are invading the kitchen cabinets. Many of our residents simply cannot afford quality housing. Racial and ethnic discrimination also limits housing choices for many residents.

In an effort to better understand the housing issues facing Travis County, the Community Action Network is charged with developing a comprehensive housing assessment. "Through the Roof" - a report on affordable homes was distributed in July of 1999 and summarized the housing affordability issues facing Austin residents. The Texas Low Income Housing Information Service also recently released an assessment that focused on housing affordability and housing programs available to very low-income Austin residents. Rather than restate the points made in previous reports, this assessment takes a look at the issues of quality and safety, availability, and briefly summarizes the affordability issue and their impact on Travis County residents.

SAFETY AND QUALITY

In order to adequately provide for Austin residents, we must ensure the availability of safe affordable housing. Housing safety and quality are issues for approximately 40,000 families in the Austin area who live in homes or apartments with faulty wiring, leaking roofs, rotting floors, inadequate kitchen or bath facilities, and many other unsafe conditions. Any of the individuals in the Austin Metropolitan Area with disabilities who live in these conditions are at greater risk.

  • Many low-income families lack the financial resources to repair their homes;
  • Elderly or disabled homeowners often cannot physically repair their homes themselves;
  • Overcrowding also presents quality and safety issues. According to City of Austin estimates, over 11,000 local households are overcrowded, meaning more than one person per room, not including kitchens and bathrooms;
  • Some rural Travis County residents who live in substandard developments face additional safety issues because they often do not have utility hook-ups, proper road access, septic systems, or drainage systems. Additionally, fire and emergency vehicles have trouble reaching these rural residences (Haurwitz, R. K. July 1998). This is due in large part to the Texas Legislature's repeal of subdivision requirements for counties (Through the Roof, July 1999).

  • Approximately 40,000 families live in substandard homes.

  • Over 11,000 households are overcrowded.

HOUSING AVAILABILITY

  • With new homes selling before they can be built and occupancy rates for apartments approaching 97 percent by the end of 1998, the number of available houses/ apartments at all price levels in the Austin/ Travis County area is limited ("Through the Roof", July 1999);
  • A controlled study conducted by the Urban Institute confirmed that when applicants presented similar financial information, 40-50 percent of all minorities in the Austin Area were rejected for loans compared to 22 percent of Caucasians, indicating that financing availability may be restricted for many minority residents in our community (Housing secretary says discrimination persists, September 1999);
  • Information about housing options is not readily available;
  • Availability of public housing units is severely lacking, in many cases with waiting lists ranging from eight to 18 months (Housing Authority of the City of Austin, 1999);
  • According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, approximately 52,000 working age individuals living in the Austin MSA are physically disabled. (This number is a very conservative figure, as it does not include people with mental health issues, disabled children, or elderly populations.) Given that approximately 13 percent of the Travis County population lives at or below the poverty level, there are at least 6,700 poor disabled residents. Because market rate housing does not provide adequately for this population, many are forced to rely on public housing. However, only 75 public housing units are set aside specifically for this poor disabled residents (Austin's commitment to house the poor, August 1999);
  • Housing availability for immigrants and migrant workers is extremely limited, with many workers living in overcrowded conditions.


 HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

Thousands of Travis County residents cannot afford to buy a home. This includes many of our community's teachers, childcare workers, laborers, waiters, salespersons, and professionals. Although affordability as a housing issue was comprehensively addressed in the Community Action Network's "Through the Roof" (July 1999) report on affordable housing, the severity of the affordability problem in Travis County can be seen in the following statistics:

Single family home prices have increased by 70% over the last 8 years.
  • Single family home prices have increased approximately 70 percent over the last eight years, severely limiting housing options.
  • Social Security income for persons with a disability is less than $500 a month, while the median priced apartment is more than $800 a month.
  • Three out of five poor families pay more than half of their income for rent.
  • Less than five percent of new apartments built in Austin rent for less than $540 per month.
  • Austin is the 15th most expensive city to live in nationwide.
  • Austin three bedroom apartment rents average $212 per month more than in other Texas cities (Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, August 1999).

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