# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Approaching the end of 2021, Rebecca Brown had a tough choice to make: Either renew a lease at her Carrollton apartment complex, which wanted $346 more a month in rent, or leave the area where she'd lived for five years.

When Brown reached out to her leasing office, she was told the rent increase couldn't be negotiated. Her two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment's rent would jump from $1,443 to $1,789. For Brown, the new price would be a struggle to afford.

"It stressed me out immediately because, I mean, that's a huge jump," Brown said. "That's [about] $400. To try to come up with an extra $400 a month, that's not that easy to do."

Brown, a 37-year-old tax analyst, is far from alone. Across the state and country, a combination of social, economic and political forces are driving more people to look for rental housing but limiting the construction of units. That imbalance between supply and demand pushes rents upward, putting tenants in financial binds. And in Texas - where laws favor landlords, and rent control is virtually nonexistent - tenants are left to either take on additional jobs, cut other household costs or move out of the communities they prefer.

"I could have afforded the increase, but it just would've made the budget tighter," Brown said. "So I was like, I have to start thinking about what my options are here."

From March 2020 to last month, the estimated median rent of new leases has increased by double digits in several Texas cities, according to Apartment List. And it's not just the big cities. Waco and Temple saw increases of more than 30% in that time frame.

In cities like New York and Los Angeles, rent control limits how much housing costs can increase on some units. And while such policies protect some tenants there, overall rental prices can still jump.

Texas allows rent control only if a city's governing body determines there's a housing emergency caused by a disaster. Even then, the decision to enact such a policy must be approved by the governor. The state's government code lists many things that can be determined as a disaster, such as a flood, hurricane, drought and an epidemic. Texas' landlord-friendly regulations - and lack of broader rent control - is increasingly making the state unaffordable for tenants, said Sandy Rollins, executive director of the Texas Tenants' Union.

"It just leads to homelessness," she said. "It leads to people having been priced out of the market."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas Tenants' Union encouraged the city of Dallas to implement rent control, but the effort gained little traction, Rollins said.

"We thought people needed protection at this time and we certainly still think people need protection to be able to stay housed and because landlords are using the opportunity of low supply to jack rents," Rollins said.

Supply and demand

Ian Mattingly, president of the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, understands why some people think that rent control could help tenants feeling squeezed by higher prices.

But, he said, limiting how much landlords or property owners can make in rent could actually lead to fewer new units being built. That, in turn, could worsen the mismatch between what's available and what people in his region are looking for.

"Just like any economic problem, the problem of pricing in housing is really related to supply and demand," Mattingly said. "And the reason that the cost of housing - not just rental housing, but single-family housing - has gone up so much in North Texas over the past several years has really been because we are not producing enough supply to meet the demand."

Since 2016, Texas has seen a 43% increase in the median cost of buying a home, according to research gathered from The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. In 2016, the median sales price was $210,000. Only five years later, the median price sat at $300,000.

The increase in sales prices has made it harder for people to buy a home, increasing the number of people looking to rent. Luis Bernardí Torres Ruiz, a research economist for the Real Estate Research Center said that's only worsened during the pandemic.

"If you look at home price growth, historically, for single-family homes, they're at a really high historical level, an unprecedented level and unsustainable level," Torres Ruiz said.

Meanwhile, the state's continued population growth only increases demand for places to live. Texas gained the most residents of any state between 2010 and 2020, according to the latest census. It is home to three of the country's 10 largest cities and four of the fastest-growing. That's made it difficult for builders to keep up.

"The issue is, right now, because we had a big increase in people moving," Torres Ruiz said. "In 2021, I think it was a record year on net people moving into our state and it's difficult. It's gonna be difficult for them to catch up."

When politics poses challenges

Texas cities' zoning regulations can limit what kinds of developments can be built in particular areas. And such restrictions can make it more difficult for developers to meet housing demand, particularly in constructing multifamily properties that can provide hundreds of rental units with one project. In larger cities, like Austin, residential zoning that favors single-family homes over multifamily projects has made affordable housing harder to find for many people looking to rent.

But loosening zoning requirements can be a fraught local political issue - and not just in major cities. Fights over zoning have also recently played out in suburbs, many of which have morphed from sleepy bedroom communities to magnets for an enviable number of major employers.

"There are cities, like Plano and Frisco, that have had real political struggles related to housing affordability because you want to preserve what municipal advocates have called their suburban character," Mattingly said. "But the truth of the matter is, Plano and Irving, these cities have more national and regional headquarters than in many cities, but they don't have the housing stock that supports that."

In addition to changing cities' zoning ordinances, Mattingly said increasing the housing bonds administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs could help increase supply. Housing bonds can be allocated at the state or local level to finance affordable housing. The bonds can fund the construction of rental properties or help first-time homebuyers with moderate to low incomes pay their mortgage.

In 2021, Texas set a cap of $3.2 billion to help finance housing projects or programs within the state. Over $1 billion was reserved for single-family home mortgages and credit certificates, while $1.8 billion was set aside for multifamily projects.

In early January, Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced his plan for a $300 million to $500 million affordable housing bond for the city, which has struggled for years to provide enough affordable housing for existing and new residents. A housing bond of this magnitude aims to permit more housing to accommodate the growing number of residents and prevent longtime citizens from being priced out. Adler hopes to put the proposition before voters in November.

Still, Rollins sees rent control as a way to combat the financial pressure tenants face from so many social and political forces.

"Rent control doesn't stop somebody from making a profit, it just limits how much the rent can increase," Rollins said. "So, places that have rent control boards, the landlords go before those boards and say 'these are what my costs are and this is what I want to increase to' and they [get] approval for the rent increase. It's not like they're told they can't make money. They're still making money. It's just the gouging aspect of it is reduced."

Rollins concedes that rent control likely wouldn't solve the supply-and-demand imbalance if only some cities adopted it.

"I think that it would need to be widespread in order to mitigate any of the ... harmful impacts that there could be if one city has it and another city doesn't. Then landlords might build in the other city rather than the city that enacted a rent control law," Rollins said.

Buying time

Brown agrees that Texas should have some form of rent control outside of disasters. Brown failed at finding a cheaper apartment in Carrollton. However, she discovered that many nearby apartments offered more amenities than her current complex - at the same price her new rent was going to be.

The way Brown saw it, she had three options.

"So option one: Pay the rent, look at other ways to cut my budget, maybe even get a part-time job to try to make up the difference," Brown said. "Option two: Try to find a different place that has better amenities. And then, like I said, at least then I'm actually, you know, getting something out of paying the extra money a month. Or option three: Leave the area completely."

Brown decided she'd try and negotiate with her current complex.

She sent an email giving examples of the prices - and amenities - at other apartments in the area and pleading her case as to why she believed the new rent price should be lowered. She also argued why she was a tenant worth having, noting she always paid her rent on time and never had any lease violations. She also said her son enjoys his school, making her dread the prospect of having to move even more.

Her apartment management lowered the rent for a new lease from $1,789 to $1,520 - only a $77 increase over her previous rent payment.

"I just kind of basically sold myself," Brown said. "Whether they were going to say yes or no, at this point I had kind of made my mind up, you know. If they were gonna say, 'no,' then it's like OK, I know my options, now I can see that I can probably get more for my money's worth."

That solved her immediate problem. But with the forces that push rent up still persisting, Brown worries about when her lease ends, scared that she won't be able to find a reasonable price next year.
Disclosure: Steve Adler, a former Texas Tribune board chair, has been a financial supporter of the Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
texas department of housing and community affairs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Texas tenants hit with soaring rent increases see little relief in sight

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Approaching the end of 2021, Rebecca Brown had a tough choice to make: Either renew a lease at her Carrollton apartment complex, which wanted $346 more a month in rent, or leave the area where she'd lived for five years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Homelessness is an important topic in North Texas. After all, housing stability is the base that people need to be successful in education, income and health-three areas we recognize as the building blocks of opportunity.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, our community included thousands of people living on the streets or in shelters. After the economic crisis of the last year, it's particularly important to understand homelessness in our community and how to make progress.

The seventh-annual "State of Homelessness Address Reimagined" event, held virtually May 11, included the results of the 2021 COVID-19 Homeless Count, an analysis of the data, actions taken by the homeless rehousing system, and next steps to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.

The event featured Ashley Brundage, director of Housing Stability and senior vice president of Community Impact at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and board chair of the Dallas and Collin Counties Homeless Collaborative; and Peter Brodsky, board chair of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA).

Here are some of the key insights from this year's State of Homelessness event:
COVID-19 has been a huge challenge.
Not surprisingly, COVID-19 created unprecedented challenges for the local homeless services community.

"COVID-19 has been devastating and disruptive for those experiencing homelessness," said John Siburt, president and CEO of CitySquare. "We've had fewer shelter beds, fewer services available. It's been very isolating and kind of a period of neglect for those who are already homeless. And on top of that, we've had this economic disruption that is leading people to face homelessness for the first time in their lives."

"We did see about the same number of families coming to us as we had in prior years, but they were more urgent, more critical and needed a deeper level of services," said Ellen Magnis, president and CEO of Family Gateway.
The 2021 Homeless Count was unlike any other.
The annual Point in Time Homeless Count, led by MDHA, provides a snapshot of who and how many people are experiencing homelessness each year. Typically, MDHA relies on volunteers to conduct the count in one day. However, because of the pandemic, MDHA couldn't use volunteers, and staff members conducted the count over a period of two weeks.

Another challenge was timing: The count started on Feb. 18, in the middle of Winter Storm Uri, which presented a variety of logistical challenges and led to a significant increase in the number of North Texans in emergency shelters.

These obstacles made the 2021 Homeless Count extremely difficult. As Brodsky explains, "It is very difficult to draw conclusions from these numbers, because they are not really an apples-to-apples comparison to previous years."

With these caveats in mind, here are key data points from this year's Homeless Count:

4,570 people were experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties.

Of those individuals who were unsheltered, about 37 percent had been homeless for more than three years, while about 40 percent had been homeless for one to three years.

About nine out of 10 experiencing homelessness were over the age of 24, while one out of 12 were under the age of 18.

370 of the individuals experiencing homelessness were veterans.

550 people in shelters had children with them, and more than 52 percent of those families were Black.

It takes people experiencing homelessness about 100 days to get into housing, a number that has steadily declined since 2015, when our community started prioritizing data-driven, housing-first solutions.

About 21 percent of clients who are placed in housing later return to homelessness.

To view the full 2021 Homeless Count report, click here.
Homelessness is not an equitable problem.
Brodsky pointed out the importance of recognizing the systemic racism inherent in homelessness.

"Black men are disproportionately affected," he said. "And it's great to name it and recognize it, but it's far from enough. The damage is already done by the time someone has become homeless. If we really want to solve this problem, we have got to address the societal, systemic racism that leads to the results we see in the homeless population: Mass incarceration, employment discrimination, disproportionate poverty and so many other factors cause African-American people to become homeless at much higher rates. We absolutely cannot accept that."

With these disparities in mind, MDHA's Racial Equity Steering Committee is taking a variety of steps to ensure equity in homeless rehousing solutions and to increase understanding of the systems that created this racial disparity in our homeless population.
Solving homelessness requires a collective approach.
Brundage acknowledged that ending homelessness is incredibly complex.

"Homelessness does not exist because of one, single factor-rather, it's a series of forces that manifest as homelessness," she said. "And the systems in place to help prevent and end homelessness are just as complex, but can be broken down into four parts: prevention programs that stabilize individuals to make sure they don't fall into poverty; housing creation to actively expand affordable housing; rehousing services, where we engage with people experiencing homelessness, bring them into shelters and then rehouse them; and street services to manage and care for individuals living on the streets."

As some of the local homeless service providers shared, because of the complexity of the challenge, ending homelessness will require commitment from nonprofits, government agencies and individuals alike:

"Poverty-and especially homelessness-are the storm that nobody sees. And the pandemic awakened everybody to our shared humanity...and cultivated a new sense of empathy and urgency around poverty and homelessness," Siburt said.

"I would say that during the pandemic the homeless service provider community came together in ways that we hadn't in the past," Magnis said.

T.C. Broadnax, city manager for the City of Dallas, agreed: "The silos that we used to operate in were no longer going to allow us to have a meaningful impact when it came to addressing homelessness. We tore down all the walls and barriers that we had with our partners and our service providers, which allowed us to figure out how the city could approach it in partnership, rather than just as a conduit for resources."
You Can Be Part of the Change
United Way Dallas, in partnership with local nonprofits and governments, works to help prevent and end homelessness. As the COVID-19 crisis hit North Texas, United Way formed the Dallas Rental Assistance Collaborative (DRAC), which enabled us to distribute millions of dollars of funding through our local partners into the community and stabilize families as quickly and efficiently as possible. This year, part of DRAC's focus is on eviction prevention for our neighbors who are struggling to pay rent.

We invite you to join the movement to lift up North Texans who have been impacted by the pandemic. To support our work in housing and homelessness, we offer three ways to get involved:

Give: Donate to United Way Dallas to put opportunity into the hands of your neighbors who are experiencing homelessness.

Advocate: Call your representatives and tell them you support affordable housing throughout our community. And be sure to sign up for our Advocacy Alerts to receive information on our top policy priorities, such as affordable and equitable housing.

Volunteer: Look for opportunities to volunteer to help United Way and our partners that provide homeless services.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The State of Homelessness in North Texas | United Way of Metropolitan Dallas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Homelessness is an important topic in North Texas. After all, housing stability is the base that people need to be successful in education, income and health-three areas we recognize as the building blocks of opportunity. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, our community included thousands of people living on the streets or in shelters.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of the biggest reasons for the current staffing shortages, according to Workforce Solutions Capital Area leaders, is a skills gap.

AUSTIN, Texas - Due to Austin's low unemployment rate, the current job market is great for job seekers, but a struggle for companies.

This is because, right now, there are more job openings than job seekers, which has led to staffing shortages across many industries in Central Texas.

Workforce Solutions Capital Area leaders say one reason the remaining jobs are not getting filled is because of a skills gap.

They say 54% of jobs in Texas are considered middle-skill, which means more than a high school degree, but less than a college degree, is needed. But only 45% of Texans meet that criteria.

Workforce Solutions offers programs to help job seekers gain different certifications, but also says businesses that are struggling to hire right now should be more open-minded with their job posting qualifications.

"They often use education as a determinant to employability that can eliminate people who have the skills but can't afford or access the required degree," said David Olson, the director of marketing and communications for Workforce Solutions Capital Area.

Olson said the other two big reasons we are seeing staffing shortages in Austin are concern over the omicron variant and the need for quality childcare.

Workforce Solutions has multiple offices in the Austin area to help connect employers to people seeking jobs, and they also have child care resources.

Olson also said upskilling is a tactic companies can use to fill higher-level positions. This means they can train their current lower-level employees to gain the skills needed for those positions.

"This is a creative tool to train and retain workers. It also targets underserved populations, those that are most likely to lack those skills, but have the motivation," explained Olson. "We know that people don't have the means for post-secondary training, so upskilling within their organization can provide that bridge to higher skills and higher earnings. "

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Workforce expert shares three main reasons Central Texas is facing staffing shortages

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of the biggest reasons for the current staffing shortages, according to Workforce Solutions Capital Area leaders, is a skills gap. AUSTIN, Texas - Due to Austin's low unemployment rate, the current job market is great for job seekers, but a struggle for companies.

# data[].attributes.body
1. not particularly... affiliated with the chamber - representation of business
2. workforce is a huge now - affordable housing
3. work with local organizations through DFW marketing team, reps from ED meet to discuss - trade missions are done (chicago, new york - share the story)
share the dfw experience - work with austin office for economic develop and tourism, started working with Texas Workforce Commission out of Austin. Trying
expand into urban areas like Irving. In Dallas (78k average) so cant meet the wage limit, working with skills development fund that do specialized training.
To qualify for Texas enterprise must meet the wage average. Dallas trails the rest of the country during recessions and are typically one of the first to come
out of it. If one sector takes a hit another will absorb.
4. most of the gaps from ED are related to retail such as high end soft goods. They want a Galleria type of facility. There are no luxury car dealerships... lost
revenue
5. supply chain issues worldwide are affecting north texas... homelessness is a major issue right now with shelter issues. certain parts have greater issues
with panhandling issues. Dallas has new ordinance cant stand on the street or in a median less than 6 ft wide for pedestrian safety.
6. las colinas resident facebook page... active social networking connecting community members and businesses. community network meet ups at local busineses
and hotels. During the pandemic sm was used to stay in contact with clients while businesses were not open. the coc has a very active interaction with social media
including linked in, facebook, and instagram... such as Christus headquarters... consumer of twitter not a publisher.

# data[].attributes.headline
Outline non-profit organizations, their purpose, and populations served

# data[].attributes.subject
Outline non-profit organizations, their purpose, and populations served

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fire Prevention and Investigations | Irving, TX - Official Website

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read about the important tasks the Fire Department’s fire prevention division is responsible for.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Join The Community | Created using Powtoon - The Visual Communication Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. Make an Impact.

# data[].attributes.headline
Evaluate stakeholders within a community and communicate their importance, influence, and impact on organizations

# data[].attributes.subject
Evaluate stakeholders within a community and communicate their importance, influence, and impact on organizations

# data[].attributes.headline
Identify local media outlets impacting organizations

# data[].attributes.subject
Identify local media outlets impacting organizations