Posted by: John Henneberger | November 22, 2008

North Texas emerges as ground zero in newly energized fight against racial housing segregation

North Texas is becoming ground zero in the fight against residential racial segregation.  This thanks to the experienced and increasingly aggressive advocacy of civil rights attorney Michael Daniel and Inclusive Communities Project director Betsy Julian.

Consider what these two, who share offices in downtown Dallas, have done in recent weeks:

  1. Filed a federal lawsuit against the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs alleging fair housing violations in the operation of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program in Dallas;
  2. Struck an agreement with the up-scale Dallas suburb of Frisco to accept future Low Income Housing Tax Credit developments;
  3. Filed suit against affluent North Dallas suburbs of Flower Mound and McKinney for failing to participate in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

The rapidity and scope of these desegregation actions have drawn national attention to a fight that has lost national momentum in recent years.

The national focus of fair housing used to be on Chicago.  Public housing desegregation and the Gautreaux program that sought to relocate Section 8 tenants from segregated inner city neighborhoods are the legacies of that effort.

Daniel and Julian are focusing on opening up the Dallas suburbs, and particularly the fast growing outer ring of suburbs to lower income African-American households through a combination of the Section 8 and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit programs.

Julian heads a nonprofit organization that works to place inner city Dallas Section 8 housing voucher holders in the suburbs and to support them as they integrate these formerly all white communities.  The program is a legacy of Daniel’s lawsuit against the City of Dallas and the Dallas Housing Authority for racially segregating publicly housing in Dallas.  Julian came to her current job from her role as Mike Daniel’s law partner with an intervening stint as Assistance Secretary for Fair Housing of HUD under President Clinton.

A while back I did an extensive interview with Julian about her approach to Fair Housing.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 21, 2008

President Bush considers pardoning former Texas housing agency board member

ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, is reporting that President Bush is considering a pardon for former Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) board member Florida Bell Griffin.

Griffin was convicted and sent to federal prison in a bribery scandal surrounding the Texas Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.  During the trial, prosecutors said that Griffin stood to make at least $425,000 from the deal.  In 2000, she was convicted of bribery, theft and money laundering.  She was appointed a board member of TDHCA by George Bush while he was governor of Texas.

The publication notes that Bush has pardoned more Texans than residents of any other state.   ProPublica ranks the likelihood of a Griffin pardon as a 2 on a scale of 4.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 20, 2008

Stories of eleven Texas families document FEMA’s illegal and systemic discrimination against the poor

It has become abundantly clear that FEMA does not treat low-income disaster survivors right.

Consider the stories included in a lawsuit filed against FEMA in Federal District Court in Brownsville today by attorneys with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid (TRLA). The lawsuit cites the tragic stories of eleven low-income hurricane survivor households denied assistance by FEMA.

Hurricane Dolly hit the South Texas Coast on July 23, 2008. FEMA admits that its home repair denial rate is unusually high for Hurricane Dolly. Many of the families who were denied assistance are among the poorest families in the US and live in the colonias along the Texas-Mexico border.

A FEMA official explained the high denial rate as follows: “A lot of the homes built were built from second hand materials. So the damage was, in most cases, caused from the faulty building of the house, and not the storm.”

This a curious and apparently illegal standard that FEMA is applying. It may be true that the homes of these families were not in good shape before Hurricane Dolly. But their homes were providing them shelter and as a result of the hurricane their homes are now uninhabitable.

The FEMA program is intended to help people regain a place to live. It has systemically failed low income families because of the illegal decisions by FEMA to deny assistance to these families, in essence, because of their pre-existing shelter poverty.

This is the little understood outrage of the failed federal response to disasters and it is way past time that something be done to remedy it. The legal aid lawyers have taken the matter to court. Thank God for their work. But a lawsuit will take time and may not address the core problem at FEMA.

Congress must take immediate action to fix this tragic injustice.

The lawsuit alleges that FEMA collects, maintains, and uses information concerning a category of home repair applications that FEMA labels “deferred maintenance,” but publicly available legal standards do not mention “deferred maintenance” or explain how FEMA ascertains this information or uses it in its housing repair assistance decisions.
It also claims FEMA has applied unascertainable legal standards to deny housing repair assistance to somewhere between ten and fifteen thousand low-income families in the Rio Grande Valley since Hurricane Dolly struck, roughly half of all applicants.

The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to compel FEMA to comply with its non-discretionary duties under 42 U.S.C. §§ 5151(a) and 5174(j) to:

(a) publicly disclose the standards that it uses to decide applications for housing repair assistance; and

(b) decide these applications in an equitable and impartial manner, without using hidden internal rules that discriminate against the poor.

The individual plaintiffs reside in Cameron and Hidalgo counties. After their primary residences were damaged by Hurricane Dolly, they applied for housing repair assistance. FEMA denied their applications, in nearly all cases due to “insufficient damage,” without telling them what legal standard was applied or what facts were relied upon to deny them assistance.

I will paraphrase the TRLA complaint as it explains what happened to a dozen low-income hurricane survivor households when they sought help from FEMA. I have redacted the families’ last names for this story to protect their privacy.

Family #1: Francisca A’s roof leaks and there is mold growing on her ceiling and walls, which will probably cost around $1500 to repair or replace, but she was denied any housing assistance benefits due to insufficient damage.

Francisca A, age 74, lives alone in Edcouch, Hidalgo County, Texas. Ms. Adame has lived in this home for over 18 years. Ms. A lives in extreme poverty. Her annual income is only $6,756, comprised of social security disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Hurricane Dolly damaged Ms. A’s roof, loosening shingles and blowing some off entirely. As a result, the roof leaks when it rains. Ms. A tries to prevent damage where she can, putting out buckets to collect the water that leaks through. However, portions of the ceiling are now rotting and mold has developed on some interior walls. She has been advised that repairs will cost close to $1500. Ms. A does not have insurance or any other means to make the repairs.

A FEMA inspector came to Ms. A’s home around August 8, 2008. He was unable to communicate directly with Ms. A because he did not speak Spanish. Ms. A’s son acted as a translator. The inspector remained on the ground when he took photographs of the property even though Ms. A told the inspector she did not think it was possible for him to adequately inspect the damaged roof from the ground.

FEMA sent Ms. A a letter denying housing assistance and other assistance on August 12, 2008, listing the reason for denial as “IID-Ineligible - Insufficient Damage”.

On October 1, 2008, Ms. A appealed the denial of benefits and requested a second inspection of her home. Although she would like to obtain a written estimate of the repair costs in order to include that with a FEMA appeal, Ms. A cannot afford to pay for such an estimate. A contractor told her orally that he would charge $600 for labor, but this free estimate did not include the cost of materials. Ms. A has not received any written decision following her October 1, 2008 appeal.

On November 3, 2008, a TRLA advocate called FEMA about the appeal. A FEMA representative informed Ms. A’s advocate that assistance had been denied because the damages to Ms. A’s pre-disaster home were not caused by the disaster. Rather, FEMA claims the damages resulted from a lack of maintenance prior to the disaster.

Family #2: Alejandro A and Elizabeth A must repair or replace a leaking roof, cracked walls and ceilings, a flooded and uninhabitable bedroom, and molding carpet, but they were denied housing repair assistance due to “insufficient damage.”

Alejandro A has but one home, where he has lived for 38 years with his family. The home is located in Lozano, Cameron County, Texas. The As live in extreme poverty, with an annual income of about $20,000 to support a household of five, including Alejandro’s wife Herminia (age 57), his daughter Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s two children, ages 14 and 2. Elizabeth and her children have lived in the A home for their entire lives.

Hurricane Dolly caused structural and roofing damage to the A’ home. Dolly’s winds damaged the roof, blowing off shingles and boards creating holes in the roof and in the sides of the house through which water enters. Dolly also shook the house and caused large cracks to appear in the walls and ceiling. Water began to stream down the interior walls during Hurricane Dolly, and one of the house’s two bedrooms was flooded. Large leaks remain throughout the house whenever it rains. Pungent mold continues to grow in the house with rain and heat. The As fear for the health of their family because of the mold. To this day the mold remains in the carpet of the home.

A contractor estimated that it would cost $3,300 just to repair the As’ roof. The As do not have insurance or any other means to make the repairs.

The As applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2). FEMA sent an inspector to the As’ home, who listened to the As’ description of the damage caused by Dolly.

FEMA sent the As a letter denying home repair assistance on August 12, 2008, listing the reason for denial as “IID-Ineligible - Insufficient Damage”.

The As appealed and provided a contractor statement. As far as they know, their appeal remains pending at this time.

Family #3: Manuel B’s roof leaked, pouring water into his kitchen, living room, dining room and laundry room, but he was denied any housing assistance benefits due to “insufficient damage.”

Manuel B, 67, and his wife, 70, have lived for about 30 years in El Charro, an informal subdivision or “colonia” located near San Juan, Texas.  Mr. B and his wife live in extreme poverty. Mr. B receives Social Security benefits of about $590 a month. His wife receives Social Security benefits of about $374 a month. They also receive Food Stamps in the amount of about $34 a month.

When Hurricane Dolly struck the Texas coast, the torrential rain from the hurricane caused severe damage to Mr. B’s roof. The weight of the rainwater on the roof caused beams and/or flashings under the roof, and/or the roof itself, to warp and buckle, so that water poured down the kitchen wall, the living room wall, part of the dining room wall and into the laundry room.

Ever since the hurricane, water has come into the house when it rains through the leaks caused when the roof buckled in Hurricane Dolly. Also, ever since the hurricane, insects enter the house through the places where Hurricane Dolly caused the house to leak. Mr. B has been spraying insecticide on the pests but this does not stop them from coming. He did not have this infestation before Dolly.

Mr. B does not have any insurance to cover the repairs he needs to make due to the damage caused by Hurricane Dolly, or any other means to make the repairs that are needed.

On or about August 6, 2008 Mr. B applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2). FEMA sent an inspector to Mr. B’s house to inspect the damage. Mr. B told the inspector that the damage was to the roof, and offered the inspector a ladder to go up and look at the roof. The inspector declined to go up on the ladder and look at the damaged roof. She told Mr. B that she didn’t need to do that, that her camera “could do miracles” and she just took pictures from inside the house and at ground level. She did not take pictures of the part of the roof that was seriously damaged by the hurricane. She only took pictures of the areas that were not seriously damaged.

On or about August 13, FEMA sent Mr. B a letter denying housing assistance, listing the reason for denial as “IID-Ineligible - Insufficient Damage”.

In September 2008, Mr. B submitted an appeal to FEMA, together with a contractor’s estimate regarding the damage to the house and the estimated cost to repair it.

On or about November 3, 2008, a representative from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. called FEMA on Mr. B’s behalf, and spoke to a FEMA representative. The representative stated that on October 15, 2008, Mr. B’s appeal was denied, due to “deferred maintenance.” On or about November 11, 2008, FEMA sent Mr. B a letter denying his appeal and denying his request for repair assistance.

Family #4: Maria G’s roof lost shingles, destroying her daughter’s bedroom and causing water to stream into the home and mold to grow on the sheetrock and carpet, but she was denied housing repair assistance due to “insufficient damage.”

Maria G has but one home, located in San Juan, Hidalgo County, Texas. Ms. G has lived there for over twenty years with her family, which at the time Hurricane Dolly struck included her husband, Rafael, her adult daughter Belinda, and Belinda’s three children, ages 6, 4, and 11 months.

The Gs live in extreme poverty, with an annual income of about $7,800. Rafael suffered a stroke and has partial paralysis on one side of his body and impaired vision as a result.

During Hurricane Dolly, the roof of the Gs’ home was damaged. Shingles were torn off the roof by the wind, causing the roof to leak. The sheetrock in the ceiling and walls was soaked. The carpet got wet, and has begun rotting and growing mold and mildew. The bedroom where Belinda lived with her children was destroyed. Whenever it rains, water streams down the interior walls. There is a pungent odor of mold and mildew in the home.

The Gs do not have insurance or any other means to make the repairs.

The Gs applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2). FEMA sent an inspector to the Gs’ home. The inspector did not speak Spanish, and Ms. G does not speak English, so Ms. G’s daughter Belinda translated the conversation. The inspector told Ms. G, as translated by Belinda, that the home was unsafe to continue to live in.

On or about September 2, FEMA sent Ms. G a letter denying housing assistance, listing the reason for denial as “IID-Ineligible - Insufficient Damage”.

The Gs appealed FEMA’s decision on September 24, 2008. Ms. G appealed FEMA’s decision because of the statements the FEMA inspector made about her home being unsafe to live in and the reason listed in her denial letter from FEMA are a contradiction. Ms. G provided FEMA a contactor estimate for repairs included in the appeal.

Upon receiving FEMA’s denial letter for housing assistance, Belinda and her children were forced to relocate to Iowa to because of the serious health concerns associated with constant exposure to mold and mildew in children and infants. Belinda reasoned that without financial assistance from FEMA to make necessary repairs, her mother’s home would not be safe and habitable for her young children. However, she hopes to be able to return to Texas to live with her mother, because the family relied on sharing income and expenses to make ends meet.

According to the contractor estimate Ms. G obtained, it will cost approximately $5,910.00 to make the necessary repairs to the G’s home.

On October 18, 2008, FEMA sent Ms. G a letter denying her appeal and denying her request for repair assistance.

Family #5: Jose G was denied any housing assistance benefits to repair over $7800.00 in damage to his recently refurbished, disability-accessible home, due to “insufficient damage.”

Jose G’s only home is located in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas.
75. Mr. G is 50 years old and is quadriplegic. He and his wife Marcelina struggle to meet their needs using their annual food stamp allotment of $756 and the $7,644 of supplemental security income that Mr. G receives annually as a result of his total disability.

Prior to Hurricane Dolly, Mr. G had received assistance from a non-profit agency for various modifications that made his home more accommodating to a person with a wheelchair. Those modifications included a ramp, increasing the size of the bathroom, and widening of some of the home’s doors. The agency that assisted Mr. G with these modifications provided them for free, because he could not afford to pay for them.

Hurricane Dolly caused extensive structural and roofing damage to the G home. Dolly’s winds blew shingles off three quarters of his roof and caused it to warp. The roof then leaked, causing damage to some interior walls of the home interior walls of the home and the growth of mildew and mold.

A licensed contractor has estimated that it will cost $7,829.81 to repair the disaster-related damage.

The Gs family does not have any insurance to cover the repairs, or other means to make the repairs. Mr. G applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c) (2).

FEMA sent an inspector to the G home. The inspector took pictures of the home and told Mr. G that he should await a decision by FEMA. FEMA sent Mr. Gonzales a letter denying home repair assistance on August 5, 2008.

Mr. G went to the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Harlingen and asked a FEMA worker why he had been denied. The worker told him that his damages were not caused by the hurricane but rather were due to deferred maintenance, and that he should already be used to living in a home in these conditions.

Mr. G received a form letter with the identical language quoted in Paragraph 28 above as FEMA’s only written explanation for his denial. Mr. G submitted appeals on August 21, 2008, and on September 5, 2008, and provided a contractor statement.

FEMA denied Mr. G’s appeals on October 14, 2008.

Family #6: Agustina I’s damaged roof and sheetrock have made her daughter sick, but she was sent an unintelligible demand for documentation of her damages and has been denied housing assistance benefits.

Plaintiff Agustina I’s home is located in San Benito, Cameron County, Texas. Ms. I, 44, is a single mother and the head of a household that includes five of her 91. Ms. I supports a family of six on approximately $20,000 annually. She is a temporary worker and will take any job she can find to pay her bills. She has worked as a health care provider and in packaging frozen food. She currently is working as a roofer’s assistant.

Hurricane Dolly caused extensive damages to Ms. I’s home. Shingles came off the roof and water flowed in through the ceiling, causing sheetrock to break off the ceiling throughout the house. Additionally, at least one wall of her home has fallen down. Ms. I cannot afford to fix her home and does not have any insurance to cover the necessary repairs.

Ms. I and her five children have no other home to live in, nor any friends or relatives with whom they can stay, and are forced to remain in their damaged house. One of Ms. I’s daughters suffers from severe allergies, which have been aggravated because of the condition of the home. Her eyes are constantly watery and she is frequently sent home from school because of the severity of her reactions.

Ms. I applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2). On August 19, 2008, FEMA sent Ms. I an award letter that did not address her request for home repair assistance and awarded her only $406.63 for damaged personal property.

Subsequently, Ms. I submitted documentation to prove that she owned her home, in an effort to obtain home repair assistance.

On October 24, 2008, FEMA sent Ms. I a letter requesting additional documentation to support her request for home repair assistance. FEMA’s request for documentation was incomplete and confusing. Quoted below is the language requesting additional documentation:

This letter confirms that we have received your correspondence requesting an appeal of our decision in your application for Housing Assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In order to evaluate your situation, we need additional documentation. …

ONE ITEMIZED ESTIMATE from a licensed contractor for disaster related
damages to the following items. (Your estimate must include a verifiable
contractor name and telephone number.)

TWO ITEMIZED ESTIMATES from licensed contractors for disaster related
damages to the following items. (Your estimates must include verifiable
contractor names and telephone numbers.)

Heating systems
(N/A)

As far as Ms. I knows, her appeal remains pending at this time.

Family #7: A tree fell on Noe and Veronica J’s home, breaking three windows and causing water damage to exposed walls and ceiling, but they were denied any housing assistance benefits due to “insufficient damage.”

Noe and Veronica J, both 68 years old, are an elderly married couple supporting their two grandchildren. The Js live in extreme poverty, with an annual income of about $11,760 to support a household of four, including themselves and their two grandchildren, ages 15 and 11.

The J’s only home is located in Edinburg, Hidalgo County, Texas. Mr. J inherited the home from his grandparents, and has lived there with his wife since 1977.

Hurricane Dolly caused damage to the J’s home. Dolly’s winds caused a tree to fall on the roof, and winds damaged the siding on one side of the house and destroyed three windows. Water entered and damaged the exposed walls and ceiling. A contractor estimated that it would cost $1,980 to repair the home. The Js do not have any insurance to cover the repairs, or other means to make the repairs.

The Js applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2). FEMA sent an inspector to the J’s home, who listened to the J’s description of the damage caused by Dolly.

On or about August 4, FEMA sent the Js a letter denying housing assistance, listing the reason for denial as “IID-Ineligible - Insufficient Damage”.

The Js appealed and provided a contractor statement. Their appeal remains pending. They seek to fairly resolve their claim for housing assistance as promptly as possible to minimize threats to their shelter, safety, and health.

Family #8: Ernesto and Norma L saw their entire house flooded, the whole roof and a bedroom destroyed, and find their home uninhabitable due to mold, but they were denied housing repair assistance because of allegedly “insufficient damage.”

Ernesto and Norma L live in poverty, with an annual income of about $20,000 to support a household of four, including themselves and their two adult sons, Carlos and Leo. Carlos is a policeman injured in the line of duty when a teenager shot him in the head. The L’s only home is located in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas.

Hurricane Dolly caused damage to the L’s home. Hurricane Dolly caused flooding of the entire house, and destroyed the entire roof and one of the bedrooms. Sheetrock is falling from the ceiling. There is mold growing throughout the house. The house is so damaged that the family suffered with respiratory problems and cannot live there, so they have moved into Ms. L’s mother’s home.

The Ls do not have any insurance or other means to make the repairs. The Ls applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2).

FEMA sent an inspector to the L’s home, who listened to the L’s description of the damage caused by Dolly. The inspector asked Mr. L if he wanted to “relocate.” Mr. L thought he meant to move permanently. It was not clear that the inspector was offering rental assistance.

FEMA sent the Ls a letter denying repair assistance due to insufficient damage. The Ls appealed the FEMA denial on August 20, 2008, and made clear that they needed rental assistance because they have had to move out of the home until it is repaired.

In response to the appeal, FEMA sent a home repair grant of $100.59. A contractor estimated it will cost $15,620.00 to repair the home. The Ls appealed this amount based on the damage incurred and provided a contractor statement and pictures of the damage. Their appeal remains pending.

Family #9: Francisca P’s home was flooded with two inches of water and then with the contents of her septic tank for several days, but she was denied any housing assistance benefits due to “insufficient damage.”

Francisca P is the head of a household which includes her husband Enrique S and Ms. P’s three teenage children. The five people in Ms. P’s household struggle to meet their needs with an annual food stamp allotment of about $8300 and the approximately $7600 in supplemental security income that Mr. S receives each year as a result of his disability. He suffers from several serious ailments that cause him to be disabled including arthritis and an ulcer.

Ms. P’s only home is located in Elsa, Texas. She has lived there since 1994.

Ms. P’s home suffered extensive damage as a result of Hurricane Dolly. Roof shingles were loosened and otherwise damaged and as a result, the roof leaked. The home was flooded with about two inches of water for two or three days. Portions of the floor warped and tiles loosened. Mold and mildew developed on her windows and portions of the ceiling and walls. Plumbing problems rendered Ms. P’s bathtub and toilet unusable for over two weeks. Waste water would back up out of the toilet and bathtub because the septic tank was overflowing with rain water.

Ms. P and her husband do not have insurance to cover the repairs, or other means to make the repairs. She had to clean the restroom three times a day for two weeks with bleach and other cleaning agents because the smell was unbearable. There was waste everywhere.

Ms. P’s daughter, who suffers from asthma, had to go to the hospital because of the foul air near her home.

Ms. P applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2).

FEMA sent an inspector to inspect her home. The inspector ignored Ms. P’s attempts to point out the disaster-related damages, walking away from her as she was speaking. He altogether neglected to inspect the bathroom with the non-functioning toilet and bathtub.

On August 12, FEMA sent Ms. P a letter denying housing assistance, listing the reason for denial as “IID-Ineligible - Insufficient Damage”.

Ms. P appealed on August 22, 2008, and provided a contractor statement, which was costly for her to obtain. Most contractors were too expensive and were charging between $200 and $250 to provide an estimate. Finally she found someone who said he would do it for a more reasonable price. A licensed contractor estimated that $6,650.00 would be needed for the
disaster-related home repairs. He charged her about $50.00 for his estimate.

Mrs. P took it upon herself to purchase a water pump and empty some of the septic tank water into her own backyard. It took two days to pump the waste out of the septic tank and into the yard. She expects rain to cause the problem to return.

FEMA denied her appeal on November 1, 2008.

Since Ms. P received her denial letter, her husband has been diagnosed with bronchitis. Other members of her family are also suffering with respiratory problems, and some are using nebulizers up to four times a day to alleviate their symptoms.

Family #10: Rosa Elia V’s roof blew off her home and landed in her yard, and her grandchildren have required emergency medical treatment for mold-related illness because of the mildew in their home, but she was denied housing repair assistance.

Rosa Elia V is the head of a household which includes her two daughters and three grandchildren, ages 5, 4, and 1. Ms. V and her family live in extreme poverty. Ms. V works and earns an annual income of about $4,800 and her daughter works and earns an annual income of $10,400. Both incomes support a household of three adults and three children.

Ms. V’s only home is located in Edinburg, Hidalgo County, Texas.

Hurricane Dolly caused extensive structural and roofing damage to the V’s home. Dolly’s winds damaged the laminate roof, blowing it off and into the yard. Her house has no laminate roof at this time. Because there is no roof, rainwater is leaking into the home and has caused damage to the walls and the ceiling. Mold is spreading throughout the house. Dolly also shook the house so that cracks appeared in the walls and ceiling.

Ms. V and her family lost personal property such as mattresses, furniture, and clothing in the home during the disaster.

Ms. V’s grandchildren have had to be taken to Edinburg Children’s Hospital emergency room several times for treatment for allergies due to the mold.

A contractor estimated that the repairs to the home will cost $5300.00 for labor and $4701.98 for materials.

Ms. V does not have insurance or other means to make the repairs. Ms. V applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2).

FEMA sent an inspector to Ms. V’s home. The inspector did not inspect all of the damage. The inspector did not climb up to see the roof damage and did not enter the damaged parts of the home. The inspector did not speak Spanish.

FEMA sent Ms. V a letter denying home repair assistance on August 18, 2008.

Quoted below is the complete and only explanation that FEMA provided for its denial of home repair assistance:

We recognize how difficult a time this is for you and your family and we
understand that may people need help following a disaster. We are committed to providing you any help we can, including important information to begin your recovery.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and State of Texas have
carefully considered all available information regarding your request for
assistance. Our decision(s) about your request is listed below:

CATEGORIES DETERMINATION
Housing Assistance INR- Ineligible - No Relocation
Medical IID - Ineligible - Insufficient Damage
Personal Property IID - Ineligible - Insufficient Damage
================ ===========
Total Grant Amount: $0.00

INR - Ineligible - Will Not Relocate

Based on our records, you told the FEMA inspector that you were not
going to move from your damaged home while repairs are being made.
Since you do not plan to move, you are not eligible for FEMA rental
assistance at this time.

If you do need to move while repairs are being made, please contact the
FEMA helpline.

Ms. V appealed and provided a contractor statement.

FEMA sent Ms. V another letter on November 11, 2008, but it awarded her only rental assistance and did not mention decisions on any other form of FEMA assistance. She is not certain whether FEMA is still considering her application for housing repair assistance.

Family #11: Cruz Alejandro “Alex” Z’s house moved on its foundation and was rendered structurally unstable, forcing his family to move into a credit-card financed travel trailer for safety, but he was denied any housing assistance benefits due to “insufficient damage.”

Cruz Alejandro “Alex” Z is a disabled U.S. Army veteran whose only home is located in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas. He has lived there since October 2001.

Mr. Z is the head of a household of five, which includes his wife, Leticia Z, and their three children, ages 14, 12, and 9. Mr. Z and his family live close to the poverty line. As a partially disabled U.S. Army veteran, Mr. Z receives $471 a month in U.S. Veterans Administration benefits. He also works as a computer information-technology consultant for a company called “____,” although work there is only available to him sporadically. He has earned approximately $20,000 from this work in 2008 to date.

Hurricane Dolly caused extensive structural damage to the Z’s home. The family took shelter in their house during the storm. The winds shook the house so hard that the family heard a cracking, popping noise, and felt the house move on its foundation.

Afterward, the house was so unstable that an adult stepping on the floor would cause the walls to tremble. The house was structurally stable until it moved on its foundation during the hurricane. Due to the damage from the hurricane, one wall of the house has bent inward, and there are cracks in the sheetrock of the house. Dolly’s winds also damaged the roof of the house, blowing off shingles and boards so that water entered the house and caused damage.

The Zs do not have any insurance to cover the repairs, or other means to make the repairs that are needed. On or about August 5, 2008, the Zs applied for FEMA home repair assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 5174(c)(2).

FEMA sent an inspector to the Z’s home. Mr. Z explained what happened, and tried to show the inspector the damage. The inspector was rude to the Zs and did not allow them to say anything or point out any of the damages.

On August 12, FEMA sent Mr. Z a letter denying housing assistance, listing the reason for denial as “IID-Ineligible - Insufficient Damage”.

Mr. Z and his family did not feel safe living in a house that was no longer structurally sound because the hurricane had damaged it so much that the walls trembled when a person walked on the floor. Since FEMA had denied them aid to repair the house, on or about August 22, 2008, Mr. Z and his wife bought a used, 1987 Skylark travel trailer, advertised by the seller as “Sleeps 4,” in order to have a safe place to live.

The Zs moved into the trailer, and are living there now because it is not safe for them to live in their house, due to the damage caused by the hurricane.

Because the Zs did not have the money to pay upfront for the $3,000 cost of the travel trailer, they had to use a credit card to finance the purchase. The Zs would not have spent $3,000 to buy this trailer if their house was safe to live in. The trailer that the Zs bought, which is designed as a travel trailer big enough to sleep up to 4 people, is not really large enough for a 5-member family to live in, but the Zs did not have money to buy a bigger trailer.

The five-member Z family, including the three school-age children, is now living in overcrowded conditions in this trailer, because without FEMA assistance they cannot restore their house to a condition that would be safe to live in. On top of the other expenses that the Zs have incurred because FEMA has not provided aid to repair their house, they also now have to pay $110 a month to rent a space for the travel trailer in a mobile home park.

Mr. Z appealed from FEMA’s denial, submitting his appeal by facsimile to FEMA on September 25, 2008.

Since September 25, 2008, FEMA has neither granted nor denied the appeal, or even acknowledged receiving it.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 19, 2008

Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation - 11/19/2008

Foreclosures continue to soar across the nation as housing starts dwindle. Cities are laced with vacant, unaffordable houses as the homeless population grows. The dilemma seems unsolvable by Washington or private corporations but HUD has finally owned that more could be done to educate low-income home owners about mortgages.

On the Texas coast, towns and cities still struggle to recover from Hurricane Ike. Many are permanently altered. A morass of bureaucratic rules impede rebuilding; the situation is worsened by tightened credit and the general recession.

For a pdf version of the full stories, plus contextual articles in social, environmental and political areas, contact Bo McCarver at bmccarver.rr.com

Uncooperative Housing
Diary of a Mad Law Professor
By Patricia Williams The Nation November 13, 2008
This year is the fortieth anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. As we celebrate Barack Obama’s election and the extraordinary social transformations that the civil rights movement brought us, we should also review with fresh eyes some of the divisions that remain. One of the thorniest of these is housing segregation. There is no doubt that many suburbs are less monolithically white than they used to be, and that many neighborhoods in the Deep South have integrated at faster rates than in the urban North. Overall, however, national disparities in public schools, medical care and policing all flow from the fact that residential segregation by race remains a pervasive feature of American life–and that it exists in the United States at a higher rate than in just about any other industrialized country. This, in turn, allows for–and even rationalizes–separate and very unequal public policies exacerbating the social barriers between white citizens and those in communities of color.

HUD Unveils New Rules for Mortgages
By James Hagerty Wall Street Journal November 13, 2008
The rules update requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, known as Respa, a 1974 law that sets standards for home-purchase transactions. HUD Secretary Steve Preston said changes were needed because “many people made uninformed decisions” in taking out loans. That, he said, contributed to a surge in mortgage defaults.

Stopping Foreclosures With the Right to Rent: One More Time
By Dean Baker truthout November 17, 2008
Politicians often prefer complex solutions to simple problems. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the long list of complicated and convoluted proposals to address the country’s foreclosure crisis.

Millions of people face the loss of their homes over the next few years. While the politicians in Congress have developed a wide variety of complex schemes in order to hold back this flood of foreclosures, including one passed into law last summer that provided up to $300 billion guarantees for new mortgages on homes facing foreclosure, none have had much impact thus far.

Real estate agents see bottom in early 2009, survey says
By Andrea Jares Fort Worth Star-Telegram November 13, 2008
Most real estate agents believe that the bottom of the national real estate market will hit sometime in the beginning of 2009, according to a survey by Campbell Communications released Thursday.

Fifty-two percent of agents said the country will see the bottom of the housing market in the first six months of 2009. Another 7.7 percent said prices have already bottomed out, and 16.5 percent believed the bottom will happen in 2010 or later.

Houston, Harris Co. making plans to buy foreclosures
Grants from Congress would fund program
By Liz Austin Peterson Houston Chronicle Nov. 13, 2008
Houston and Harris County soon could begin buying and renovating foreclosed homes and selling them to low- and middle-income families, using $28 million in federal grants aimed at tackling the subprime mortgage crisis.

They are among five counties and nine cities in Texas eligible for a piece of nearly $4 billion in grant money Congress allocated this summer for the redevelopment of foreclosed properties in its housing bailout bill.

Dallas-Fort Worth sees record home foreclosure postings
By Steve Brown Dallas Morning News November 13, 2008
A record of more than 50,000 Dallas-Fort Worth area homes have been posted for foreclosure in 2008.

That’s 17 percent more than in 2007 and more than double the number of foreclosure filings in 2002, Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service said Thursday.

Steadied by wartime economy, military towns around some bases sheltered from real estate bust
By Kristin Hall Associated Press November 11, 2008
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Sometimes Tim Wells felt like the only man left on his street.

Thousands of soldiers were deployed out of Fort Campbell, Ky., just a few miles away, and homes in Wells’ subdivision were sitting empty. But a few months later the soldiers began to return and, one by one, the homes were quickly purchased.

”They all started selling, boom-boom-boom, right down the line, as people rotated in,” said Wells, who was a civilian contractor working on the base. “It was a pretty clear pattern.”

While overall national home prices and sales are down, there are pockets in the U.S. doing well. Among them are military towns dominated by big bases, helped by steady wartime employment and by more moderate increases in values and less reckless lending than many boom areas saw during the bubble.

Residents miffed at builder’s plan
By Jennifer Huller San Antonio Express-News November 14, 2008
Residents of a new suburban community are fuming over their builder’s decision to add smaller, lower-priced homes to their neighborhood now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse.

Homeowners in KB Home’s Sundance Trails and Sundance Ridge communities, located off Potranco Road outside Loop 1604, say the cheaper homes will bring down their property values and ruin the aesthetics of the neighborhood.

From last resort to first choice
The state windstorm association’s rates may encourage unwise building
By Purva Patel Houston Chronicle Nov. 15, 2008
Lawmakers created the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association as a last resort for homeowners and businesses unable to find coverage elsewhere.

But in recent years, relatively cheap premiums, a shrinking private market and lenient eligibility requirements have caused the wind pool to swell and encouraged building in areas susceptible to hurricanes, those advocating reforms for the agency say.

“If we’re going to make this rational and have people face the consequences of building on the coast, we need to let TWIA charge higher rates,” said Bill Peacock, of the free-market-leaning Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom.

The state-created but privately run association long has complained it is underfunded and its policies underpriced, but staggering losses this year have brought the idea of reforms back to the forefront.

New high-tech FEMA maps redefine flood zones
By Jennie Coughlin and Jessica Durando USA Today November 13, 2008
New high-tech maps are forcing many U.S. homeowners to buy flood insurance for the first time, while others who have had coverage are being cleared to drop their policies.

The changes stem from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s multiyear plan to digitize its Flood Insurance Rate Maps to make them more accurate and easier to update.

Texas tent living still common 2 months after Ike
By Juan Lozano Associated Press November 14, 2008
OAK ISLAND, Texas - Truong Van Cao and two other fishermen share a cramped, muddy tent amid the wreckage of homes, including his own, destroyed when Hurricane Ike stormed across this tiny Southeast Texas town.

Seventy miles to the northeast, Bridge City retirees Ferrel and Jerry Ashby waited a month to get a mobile home from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the storm flooded their house.

Hardship lingers on Texas’ coast after Hurricane Ike
By Emily Ramshaw Dallas Morning News November 16, 2008
CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas - When Hurricane Ike swallowed their beachfront home and all of their belongings, Darlene and Mark Pagels tried to hold it together.

They borrowed underwear and shoes. They slept in one-hour shifts at a local hospital. They ate free meals in a tent outside their church. And they waited, through September, then October, for a mobile home from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

When a FEMA trailer finally landed on the Pagels’ property last week, it came with a padlocked door - and orders that they not move in until inspectors gave them the OK.

Officials eyeing spots for FEMA mobile homes
By Chris Paschenko and Leigh Jones Galveston County Daily News November 14, 2008
GALVESTON - City and FEMA officials on Thursday announced 10 island locations where they hope to install mobile home communities to house residents displaced by Hurricane Ike.

Most of the sites are privately owned, but several of them belong to Galveston County and the Galveston Independent School District.

Neither county commissioners nor school board members have agreed to let the sites be used for the mobile home communities.

Tiny Shoreacres bares big burden
Two months after it was hit hard by the storm, the small coastal village in the ’shadow of La Porte’ is still in ruins, with 88% of homes and half of its people gone
By Mike Snyder Houston Chronicle Nov. 12, 2008
Hurricane Ike’s storm surge slammed into the picturesque Shoreacres bayfront in the predawn darkness, turning houses into breezeways as it knocked out walls on its relentless push inland.

Today, exactly two months after Ike hit, the scene remains one of utter devastation. Chunks of the brick facade from one house are strewn across its driveway. A toilet lies upended on a front lawn.

Hundreds may be homeless with FEMA vouchers ending
By Leigh Jones Galveston County Daily News November 13, 2008
GALVESTON - Latina Vallery planned to stay in her Super 8 motel room until next week, when her landlord should be finished making repairs to her flood-damaged apartment.

But Tuesday morning, she found a note taped to her door saying she had to be out by 11 a.m. today.

Vallery is among hundreds of Galveston County residents checking out of hotel and motel rooms today because the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not extend their hotel vouchers.

Future of public housing depends on repair cost
By Rhiannon Meyers Galveston County Daily News November 16, 2008
Inspectors hired by the federal government are combing through the properties to determine the extent of the damage caused when Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston on Sept. 13, flooding five of the island’s six public housing developments, and forcing hundreds of public housing residents from their homes. Four housing developments - Cedar Terrace, Palm Terrace, Oleander Homes and Magnolia Homes - remained closed after they were inundated with several feet of salty flood water. The units have not been cleaned or repaired.

Department of Labor probes blue-roof project
By Chris Paschenko Galveston County Daily News November 17, 2008
HITCHCOCK - The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating allegations that laborers in Galveston County weren’t paid for weeks of roofing jobs associated with the government’s blue-roof project.

Roofers from across the country, who spent weeks living in tents and hammering blue tarpaulins on homes damaged by Hurricane Ike, say they haven’t been paid and that the government-funded program left them penniless with no way home.

Houston to pay feds $15 million for misspent grants
By Mike Snyder Houston Chronicle Nov. 17, 2008
The city of Houston has agreed to repay $15.5 million over five years to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to settle findings that it misspent grants from three federal housing programs prior to December 2004.

Planning commission reaches impasse in move to restrict further Oaks development
By Dee Dixon Beaumont Enterprise November, 17, 2008
Having recorded a 4-4 vote, the Beaumont Planning and Zoning Commission will send the city council no recommendations regarding one of two proposed residential zone changes for the Oaks Historic District.
The one it could make no decision on was a new zoning classification that would have excluded any new businesses from the existing residential conservation and revitalization zone. Restaurants would be allowed in a second proposal, which passed easily.

Growth slows in suburbs
City governments have more time to plan but less new revenue
By Kate Miller Morton Austin American-Statesman November 16, 2008
For more than a decade, the amenities that accompanied Kyle’s rapid population growth seemed to come for free.

The city, which has quadrupled in size since 1998, lowered its tax rate 11 consecutive years while it simultaneously went on a $64 million building spree that included miles of new highways, a railroad overpass, a City Hall, fire station and municipal swimming pool.

This year, the free ride came to an end with the halt of the development boom that had made it all possible.

More lofts, retail spaces in works downtown; owner hoping for clothing shop
By Mike Copeland Waco Tribune-Herald November 13, 2008
Partners W. Leslie Long and Austin Brock have bought another building on Austin Avenue with plans to convert it to loft and retail space.

Their latest acquisition is 721-723 Austin Ave., a two-story building they acquired from Jeff and Honey Rader.
“We hope to put four two-bedroom, two-bath condominiums on the second floor,” said Long, adding: “In the absolute best-case scenario, they will be ready in six to eight months.”

Homeless hope to get off the streets with their art show
Purple zebra, rhinos, sea monsters decorate canvases for annual show this weekend.
By Claire Osborn Austin American-Statesman November 15, 2008
A purple zebra running through a field. A surfer making his way through a series of three waves in a huge canvas of blue. A red lizard slithering across a map of Africa.
The annual art show featuring paintings and drawings from Austin homeless artists this weekend includes anything but the streets where they live.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 18, 2008

Houston uses local housing funds to replace disallowed federal housing funds

Houston Chronicle reporter Mike Snyder has uncovered a move by the City of Houston to repay over $15.5 million of disallowed HUD housing funds with housing funds the city collected from local tax increment refinance zones (TIRZ).

I have been digging into the story a little to try to uncover some details. The explanatory documents filed by the City’s housing department with the City Clerk’s office states…

The Housing and Community Development Department has management responsibility for ensuring that HUD grants awarded to the City are used in compliance with appropriate federal regulations and statutes.  The city annually receives grant funds from four different HUD programs. Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) and HOME Investment Partnerships. HUD continuously monitors the grant recipients to assess compliance with its highly complex regulations and to ensure that the grant funds are being used for eligible purposes.

HUD’s monitoring of 2003, 2004 and 2005 program activities found noncompliance with HUD program regulations and disallowed certain expenditures made with HOME, HOPWA and CDBG funds. The city has worked with HUD for more than a year to resolve these findings. Through negotiation and corrective action, the city’s total exposure has been reduced considerably resulting in our obligation either to repay the following amounts or to face reduced grant awards in the future (with the HOME amount subject to further adjustment based on HUD’s review of City submittals).

CDBG $487,793

HOPWA $1,397,029

HOME $13,622,372

TOTAL $15,507,194

HUD has agreed to a five-year no interest payment schedule, with annual payments in the amount of $3,101,439. The proposed ordinance approves this payment schedule, subject to annual appropriations by City Council, and appropriates TIRZ Affordable Housing Funds for the first year’s installment, which will be applied to findings related to two multifamily home projects.

This is clearly an unfortunate situation. The City did not follow the federal regulations and therefore has to repay quite a bit of money from three federal housing block grants. There is no explanation in the materials provided to the City Council as to the nature of the City’s noncompliance with federal laws.

The City’s decision to use locally generated affordable housing funds to reimburse the federal government for the misspent federal housing funds also raises the question: Are the disallowed housing activities reasonable and appropriate to be funded with local housing funds?  We simply don’t have the information to judge.  And that is a big problem when such large sums of public funds are involved.

At the least this points to the extremely broad, and in my opinion inappropriate, state law which governs the city’s use of affordable housing funds collected from Tax Increment Refinance Zone funds. There are very few standards and little reporting required as to how these funds are utilized.

The Legislature should take steps to make the City accountable to the taxpayers and the public for how it spends TIRZ funds.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 17, 2008

Seeking solutions to providing low-income housing in rural Texas

Hereford, a Texas Panhandle community of about 15,000, will host an important meeting today to consider how to overcome the barriers to getting affordable housing developed in small towns and rural communities across Texas.

While population growth rates in rural communities are often slower than those in urban communities housing needs in these communities are often just as urgent.  Generally stagnant incomes plague rural Texas.  Major portions of the population are elderly, have low incomes and have limited educations.  These economic and demographic conditions, coupled with an aging and deteriorating housing stock, add up to a pressing need for decent and affordable housing.  Yet, little new housing has been developed in small town and rural Texas in the past quarter century.

In an attempt to understand both the housing needs and factors that have prevented subsidized housing from being developed a pilot program is being carried out in the rural Texas Panhandle counties of Deaf Smith, Castor and Palmer.  Hereford is the largest community in the three county region.

Sponsored by the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, the Association of Rural Communities in Texas, Motivation, Education and Training, Inc. and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, today’s meeting is expected to bring together more than 60 local and state leaders to assess the local housing needs, learn about existing programs, identify structural problems and develop a comprehensive housing plan for the region.

We selected these three counties as the place to begin to assess the needs and effectiveness of current programs because, in many ways, the region is typical of the conditions found across Texas’ rural communities.  Demographically the counties are either slowly losing population or growing at a relatively slow pace.  Economically, while a range of different incomes are present, lower and fixed income households predominate.

The starting point for project is an in-depth assessment of region’s housing needs based on an extensive survey of local elected officials and a detailed market study, both sponsored by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).  The 199 page regional market study is published on the TDHCA web site.

Local citizens will highlight regional housing needs by describing in detail the housing problems facing local citizens. Participants in the meeting are expected to review the market study and consider the stories of individual housing problems to develop a regional comprehensive housing plan.  Existing housing subsidy programs will be detailed by state and federal agencies responsible for the programs.  Program gaps that prevent existing housing programs from working in the region will be identified and presented to a Texas Senate committee currently reviewing problems in the delivery of affordable housing in rural communities.  The Senate committee will present recommendations for changes in state laws and programs to the upcoming Texas Legislature.

I’ll post updates about this effort in future blog entries.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 16, 2008

What’s with FEMA’s high denial rate of Galveston area requests for help?

Anger is widespread over the fact that people are still living in tents in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.  Data just obtained from FEMA shows the agency is approving less than 10 % of the applications for help from hurricane survivors in Galveston.

Hurricane Ike was a huge storm that destroyed homes across the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast.  No place was harder hit than Galveston. Maddie Sloan, a staff attorney for Texas Appleseed, got some data about the Galveston housing problems from the FEMA Austin Joint Field Office that is sobering.  Here is what she found.

The numbers depict the households that have applied for assistance from FEMA under the “Individual Assistance” program.  There is currently a 52% denial rate, the approval rate has fallen to 9.8%, with 32% of applications still pending, probably because home inspections have not been completed given some of the numbers FEMA has posted on the website about inspections.

Total registrations:     719,576
Total approvals:          70,595
Withdrawn applications:   42,115
Total ineligible:        374,957
Pending applications:    231,909
.

Applications to date in Galveston County: 70,077  ( As of October 25, about 43% of applications for Galveston County were from the City of Galveston.)

Applications withdrawn: 6,903

Out of the remaining 63,174 applications, 19,689 have been determined eligible, a 31% approval rate.  FEMA did not have the numbers broken down by denials vs. pending applications.

FEMA did have denials for Galveston County broken down by reason for the denial.  Those numbers, and FEMA’s explanations are below.

  • 58.78%  Insufficient Damage – the home has been inspected and was livable, making the applicant ineligible for temporary housing assistance, or the damage did not meet the minimal threshold.  Many of these have been appealed and either FEMA will conduct a second inspection or the applicant can provide an assessment from his or her own contractor, or proof that the property has been condemned by the local government.
  • 13.5%  Applicant said that he or she did not have to move during repairs – often applicants misunderstand this question and when they realize they have to move out during repairs become eligible.
  • 10.7%  Inspector could not get in touch to schedule an inspection – often because applicant was in a shelter and is now living somewhere else and has not updated contact information with FEMA.  Applicants can call the helpline and schedule an inspection.
  • 5.6%  Another household member is already receiving assistance
  • 3.0%  Failed ID verification – if applicant did not fill out application with a middle initial, but the initial is on the Social Security Card, the verification will fail, for example.

Homeowners with insurance often receive an initial denial until they can document the amount they’re getting from their insurance company and that there is a funding gap.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 15, 2008

New Dallas Housing Authority leader needs to focus on the best interest of the tenants

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has appointed a new chair for the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) which got me thinking about what it takes to be a good public housing authority leader.

The new DHA board chair is Terdema Ussery, whose day job is president and CEO of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team.

The Dallas Morning News, which thankfully seems to care about the fate of the DHA, has applauded the choice of Ussery.  In an editorial in Friday’s paper the DMN claims Ussery is a “savvy manager who seems capable of bringing much-needed credibility and strategic direction to an agency filled with old-school thinkers and career bureaucrats.”

DHA executive director Ann Lott was fired from her job recently after several bad HUD audits over financial management and in the wake of a controversy with board members and civic leaders over her refusal to sell off a downtown public housing development to private investors eager to use the land for other purposes.  While there have been public denials from city hall that the politics of the sale of this public housing development led to Lott’s firing, the Dallas Morning News editorial page, never insensitive to the interests of Dallas’ political powerful, noted in today’s editorial that one failure of the DHA that its new board chair would correct is “…opting to hold onto properties instead of forging public-private partnerships to make better use of assets.”

Returning to my original question about what makes a good leader for a public housing authority I have one simple test — the ability to discern and act of what’s in the best interest of the 60,000 residents of the housing authority.  Now this might sound absurdly simplistic but has seldom been the guiding consideration at the DHA.

From the inception of public housing in Dallas the principal goal was to use public housing to promote the interests of the political elites.  Want proof?  Well take a look at the history of the DHA that we have published on our web site.  Public housing came to Dallas as a tool of the city fathers to steer African-American population growth away from white neighborhoods.

This is also a fact acknowledged in federal court desegration cases.  Unfortunately, DHA leadership has either opposed or has been thwarted by city hall and wealthy white neighborhood associations in complying with court orders to build new public housing in white North Dallas neighborhoods.  Now the major issue confronting the new leadership at DHA is said by the local daily newspaper to be selling valuable downtown public housing, located in a high opportunity area near good jobs to private developers.  Ask any public housing resident where this rates on their list of concerns and you will get a different view.  But from its inception down to today, DHA has seldom been operated in the best interests of public housing residents.

I do not know Mr. Ussery, although he apparently is a neighbor of mine in the North Dallas neighborhood of Preston Hollow.  I wish him well.  And I offer him this piece of advice to be a good leader for the housing authority:  Listen to your tenants and act in their best interests.  Perhaps the place to start is to build some new affordable housing in high opportunity neighborhoods like ours.  I think you will agree with me and our fellow neighbor Mayor Leppert that Preston Hollow is a great place to live. Finding low income families a good place to live should be a higher priority than making some private developers happy by selling them public housing assets.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 14, 2008

Texas cities should place derelict apartments in receivership

Heather K. Way of the UT Law School says cities should use receivership laws to clean up apartment developments.

Heather K. Way of the UT Law School says cities should use receivership laws to clean up apartment developments.

Heather K. Way, director of the Community Development Law Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, read my comments about Mayor White’s recent efforts to stop a Houston landlord from abandoning 1000 low-income renters living in a run down Houston apartment project. Her reaction was that Houston needed to more aggressively use receivership provisions in state law to deal with irresponsible apartment owners.

Here are Heather’s comments…

As Houston struggles to fix its apartment habitability crisis, it should start using its receivership powers. More aggressive use of receivership could prevent future deaths and other tragedies in these complexes from occurring.

Some Background: Receivership is a critical tool used around the country to repair severely blighted multifamily properties. Receivership gives cities and community-based nonprofits the means by which to address these problem properties when the property owner has abandoned his or her responsibilities as an owner and, as a result, the properties are creating an imminent risk of harm to the tenants and the surrounding community.

When a property owner refuses to comply with court orders to repair a severely dilapidated property, the city can ask the court to appoint someone, under Chapter 214 of the Local Government Code, to step into the shoes of the owner and bring a property back into compliance with health and safety codes. After a finding by a judge that the property is posing an imminent risk of harm to the tenants or surrounding community, the judge can appoint the receiver to take control and repair the property. The receiver is able to recoup its costs in the form of a lien placed on the property. If the owner fails to pay the costs of repairing the property, the court can order a sale of the property.

Dallas is the only city we are aware of that has been exercising its receivership powers. In at least three instances, the city was able to recently appoint a receiver to successfully repair or demolish apartments in deplorable condition. Other cities in Texas should look to what Dallas is doing. Ohio, Baltimore, and Illinois are also doing innovative things with receivership.

The Clinic is in the process of drafting improvements to the Texas receivership laws that would increase nonprofit engagement in the receivership process and expand the usefulness of this important tool. We welcome input from everyone.

Our Community Development Clinic has also developed a comprehensive manual of best practices and tools to deal with blighted and abandoned properties, that includes a discussion of receivership and how it can be used under Texas law and is used in other states. The manual is available on our website at: http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/clinics/community/workhighlights.php. We prepared this for a community group in Dallas, but we hope others in Texas can utilize the tools in this manual as well.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 13, 2008

Slow expenditures, questionable priorities plague Houston and Harris County administered hurricane relief efforts

We have been critical of the decisions of the City of Houston and of Harris County so far as their uses of federal CDBG funds intended to assist victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.On top of the inappropriate use of the funds it now seems the city has been extremely slow to put the funds to use.

WRONG PROGRAM PRIORITIES

Neither the city or the county has proposed to expend any of the funds to directly help the Katrina evacuees with their critical housing needs. Instead, the funds are allocated to reimburse the city for expanded police enforcement in areas where large numbers of Katrina evacuees were living, to a program to reimburse landlords for repairs to apartments and to reimburse the county for the cost of MHMR services, counseling and jails.

A third of Houston’s CDBG recovery funds are explicitly devoted to incarcerating evacuees as part of a broad public safety program to increase police presence at apartment developments with high evacuee populations. The “Evacuee Public Services” program anticipates arresting about 20% of the total evacuees remaining in the city. The City of Houston’s draft amendment to the Texas Action Plan for Disaster Recovery to use CDBG recovery funds states: “It is anticipated that approximately 20,000 evacuees will be incarcerated in the County jail as a result of the proposed Multi-Family Community Liaison Program.”

In another twist on an already problematic recovery strategy, the Houston Chronicle discovered last year that at least one of the apartment complexes to be funded by the CDBG public safety program would not even be housing evacuees. The landlord, it turned out, had chosen not to participate in the DHAP program. While the Harris County Housing Authority told the Chronicle they would provide relocation assistance to tenants at this and other developments that pulled out of the evacuee housing assistance program, the agency had no money to help pay for security and utility deposits, according to Guy Rankin, the housing authority’s executive director. This situation illustrates how two major failures of hurricane recovery have intersected to tragically deny needy evacuees housing assistance: the misuse of federal CDBG recovery funds, and a poorly designed federal temporary assistance program that leaves evacuees in unstable housing that can be lost to the whims of a landlord.

SLOW EXPENDITURES

A status report from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs on the funds allocated to Houston and Harris County reports a very slow expenditure rate.

The City of Houston has expended only 33% of its $42,000,000 allocation through June 2008. The Housing Safety Component has expended 60.32% of its $20,000,000 allocation.  The Apartments to Standards program was also allocated $20,000,000 and is 9% expended.

Harris County has expended even less, 2.80% of its $21,000,000 allocation.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 12, 2008

Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation - 11/12/2008

As the general economy sinks, foreclosures continue to soar and new housing starts dwindle. In California, foreclosures devastate whole towns. No evidence of the $700 billion bailout has reached Texas’ grassroots.

Meanwhile, FEMA’s terrible performance has fueled a Congressional investigation and possible corrective legislation. Two years after Hurricane Rita, less than 10 percent of the aid has been distributed. FEMA’s response to Hurricane Ike has been similar:  two months after Hurricane Ike, homeowners and tenants remain in tents while FEMA officials seek a place to park thousands of trailers.

For a pdf file of the full articles, plus contextual stories in social, environmental and legal areas, contact Bo McCarver at bmccarver@austin.rr.com

Fannie Mae reports record $29B loss, massive writedown
Associated Press         Nov. 10, 2008
Fannie Mae posted a record quarterly loss as new Chief Executive Officer Herbert Allison slashed the value of the mortgage-finance provider’s assets by at least $21.4 billion and said it may need to tap federal funds next year.

In its first report since being seized by the U.S. government in September, Washington-based Fannie Mae said its third-quarter net loss was $29 billion, or $13 a share, the largest for any company in the Standard & Poor’s 500 this year.

Workers put down roots
A rough housing market gives rise to relocation resistance.
By Marilyn Gardner          Christian Science Monitor          November 3, 2008
As a resident of Philadelphia for 20 years, Scott Clinton has established deep roots. So when the transport company where he works as a mechanical engineer announced that it will relocate to Greenville, S.C., at the end of the year, he decided not to go.

“I’m very committed to our church, our family, our friends, our community,” Mr. Clinton says. “We’re just not interested in picking up and moving.” Instead, he is looking for a new job. Most of the firm’s 67 workers are doing the same.

In decades past, employees like Clinton were more willing to relocate, either to accept a transfer or to take a job with a different employer. Today greater independence prevails. People are more likely to say no to a move, citing a sluggish real estate market, a spouse’s job, or even a divorce settlement that restricts parental moves.

Few applied for Hope for Homeowners mortgage program
Los Angeles Times        November 10, 2008
The government’s Hope for Homeowners plan launched Oct. 1 was initially projected to help over the next three years as many as 400,000 struggling borrowers avert foreclosure.

But fewer than 100 homeowners applied to the program in October, and the Federal Housing Administration now projects that just 13,300 will be helped in its first year. An FHA official said recently that one large lender had reported that in a group of 23,000 troubled borrowers only 1,200 would be eligible for the program.

A Town Drowns in Debt as Home Values Plunge
By David Streitfeld        New York Times       November 11, 2008
MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Calif. - This town, 59 feet above sea level, is the most underwater community in America.

Because of plunging home values, almost 90 percent of homeowners here owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth, according to figures released Monday. That is the highest percentage in the country. The average homeowner in Mountain House is “underwater,” as it is known, by $122,000.

After Ike: Officials decry storm relief red tape
Texas so far has spent just 10% of Rita aid
By Mike Snyder and Lynn Cook       Houston Chronicle       Nov. 10, 2008
Congress should eliminate barriers that have forced Texas hurricane victims to wait years to rebuild their storm-damaged homes, state and federal officials said Monday.

Among the laws that should be reviewed are the Stafford Act, which controls many federal disaster recovery programs, and the statute governing federal Community Development Block Grant funds, which help low-income, uninsured homeowners rebuild their homes, the officials said.

Houston home starts sink by 29 percent
By Nancy Sarnoff 
      Houston Chronicle         Nov. 5, 2008
Houston-area home starts fell 29 percent in the third quarter, marking their steepest decline in more than a decade.

Dallas-Fort Worth home sales post steep decline
By Steve Brown        Dallas Morning News       November 10, 2008
North Texas home sales suffered a steep decline in October, falling 17 percent from a year ago.

The decline in home purchases was one of the largest so far this year and came as world financial and credit markets crashed.

Collin County experiencing increase in home evictions
By Ed Housewright       Dallas Morning News       November 9, 2008
Johnny Todd has a lousy job: The Collin County constable evicts people who don’t pay their rent.

With the battered economy, Constable Todd is busier than ever. He’s not just ousting renters. He’s also evicting homeowners who fall hopelessly behind on their mortgage.

He witnesses foreclosure fallout firsthand.

“You can’t stay for free,” Ms. Wright said. “We have to be fair and consistent.”

Builders still busy through new homes permits are down
By Heather Nolan       Beaumont Enterprise      November 9, 2008
Beaumont home builders have managed to keep busy these last few months thanks to Hurricane Ike, despite the fact that they’re not building as many homes as they were at this time last year.

“There’s a ton of money being invested from repairs,” said Richard Guseman, president of Guseman Homes and of the Home Builders Association of Southeast Texas. “That’s an infusion of cash we wouldn’t normally have had, and it’s still money being dumped into the economy.”

City records show the city issued 77 residential construction permits in September and October this year, down from 160 permits issued in the same period one year ago.

This time around, Beaumont homes did not receive nearly as much damage as during Rita, which home builder How-ard Nichols said allowed contractors to continue working.

Farmers Insurance plans big increase in Texas homeowners rates
By Terrence Stutz        Dallas Morning News         November 8, 2008
AUSTIN - Farmers Insurance plans to impose double-digit rate hikes for hundreds of thousands of its customers in North Texas and across the state, blaming the increase on rising costs for labor and building materials.

The higher rates, which would be reflected on insurance bills beginning Feb. 16, affect policyholders for two of the company’s largest subsidiaries. Farmers is the No. 3 home insurer in Texas.

Tax Hearing Focuses on ‘Appraisal Creep’
By Guillermo  Garcia     San Antonio Express News       November 5, 2008
Despite a state mandate that limits property tax rate increases, “appraisal creep” is causing a steady rise in property taxes for businesses and homeowners, a state panel meeting in San Antonio was told Tuesday.

Families falling through cracks with FEMA
By Leigh Jones       Galveston County Daily News      November 9, 2008
GALVESTON - Hurricane Ike left about a foot of water in Margaret Makupson’s 29th Street house.

But the Federal Emergency Management Agency says she doesn’t qualify for rental assistance.

Ike also flooded the house on Heards Lane where Monica Diaz and her four children lived with her mother, destroying all the family’s belongings.

But because Diaz wasn’t named on the lease, the federal agency won’t give her assistance - not even money to replace her children’s clothes and toys.

City, FEMA formula discrepancy confusing residents
By Leigh Jones       Galveston County  Daily News      November 9, 2008
GALVESTON - Joe Enriquez spent the last 53 days worrying that his house on Bayou Shore Drive would have to be elevated.

Hurricane Ike pushed about 5 feet of water into the place when it came ashore Sept. 13, flooding 75 percent of the island’s houses.

Under the city’s floodplain regulations, any house with more than 50 percent damage must be lifted above the base flood elevation, which is at least 11 feet in most parts of the city.

Feds still looking for mobile-home sites
By Leigh Jones       Galveston Daily News       November 9, 2008
GALVESTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have a shortage of mobile homes for hurricane victims, David Paulison, the agency’s top administrator, said.

The problem is finding places to put them, he said.

Almost two months after Hurricane Ike made landfall damaging 75 percent of houses on Galveston Island and devastating communities all along the upper Texas coast, the government is installing only six mobile homes on the island and 44 in the rest of Galveston County.

Housing all locked up on isle
By Rhiannon Meyers        Galveston County Daily News       November 9, 2008
GALVESTON - More than 500 Galveston residents received housing assistance vouchers during the first week of a federal program designed to move hurricane victims into apartments and rental houses while their homes are repaired.

But some are having trouble finding places to live.

Available housing is limited. Some people are finding that the places they want to rent have yet to be repaired after Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston on Sept. 13, flooding 75 percent of the island and rendering four of the island’s public housing complexes unlivable.

City brokers unusual takeover at apartment complex facing foreclosure
By Bradley Olson        Houston Chronicle      November 6, 2008
The city has brokered the takeover of a 600-unit apartment complex in north Houston that was vacated by its managers, who left residents fearing eviction as the property, badly damaged by Hurricane Ike, faces a possible foreclosure.

Hybrid homes become a selling tool
By Bob Keefe         Austin American-Statesman         November 09, 2008
First came the push for fuel-efficient cars. Are fuel-efficient houses next?
As builders look for ways to move homes in a lousy market, they’re increasingly taking their cue from carmakers and turning toward energy efficiency as a selling tool.

Austin developers planting homes in Mexican jungle
Warehouse District business owners cutting through foreign-ownership red tape to build eco-friendly subdivision.
By Jeremy Schwartz        Austin American-Statesman          November 10, 2008
TULUM, QUINTANA ROO - When everyone else was looking to the beach, the Schnurr family set its sights on the jungle.
About five years ago, the Austin family - which owns such Warehouse District haunts as Milaga and Cedar Street Courtyard - hit upon a vision of an eco-friendly development. Their plan called for a subdivision of solar-powered resort and retirement homes in the lush jungle two hours south of Canc?n.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 11, 2008

Houston Chronicle urges prioritizing rebuilding Galveston public housing

Amen!

House poor
Make restoring Galveston’s public housing a priority
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Nov. 10, 2008

More than three years after Hurricane Katrina, some 4,000 low-income apartments languish unrepaired, vacant and shuttered in New Orleans. It’s a lesson in how not to deal with a city’s poor that Galveston would do well to learn.

Before Hurricane Ike, about 2,200 Galveston families lived in public housing or subsidized apartments, according to the city’s Housing Authority. The agency operates 975 units of public housing in four apartment complexes and two high-rise buildings. Poor island residents also occupied another 1,200 subsidized apartments under the government’s Section 8 program.

In September, the Housing Authority reopened units in parts of its high-rise buildings, but it condemned every unit in the four low-rise complexes.

The residents of those apartments scattered to shelters and hotels, a Red Cross tent city and the homes of relatives or friends. Many who had no way to remove their furniture and belongings or had nowhere to take them are wondering what will become of those few possessions.

Their circumstances are difficult now, and, for many, there’s little reason to believe they will improve in the near future. Partly that’s because many of these residents, besides being poor, are elderly or disabled. Some, temporarily down on their luck, may find their situation greatly worsened. Others belong to a category of hard-core impoverished - people with few job skills or single mothers with too many mouths to feed.

But part of the reason some will find the hardships dragging on is that Galveston officials have not yet said when the city’s Housing Authority might reopen damaged subsidized units or whether it will renovate them at all.

That leaves residents little hope of returning anytime soon.

If what happened in New Orleans is any indication of Galveston’s public housing future, the island’s neediest residents perhaps shouldn’t get their hopes up.

In New Orleans, according to the Times-Picayune, that city’s housing agency managed about 5,100 public housing apartment units before Katrina hit in 2005. After the storm, the city demolished 4,534 of those units. Today, around 4,000 privately owned but government-subsidized apartments sit unoccupied for a variety of complex reasons: administrative red tape, market barriers, insurance problems and, arguably, a lack of will on the part of local and federal officials.

Nor is the record elsewhere all that hopeful. In Mississippi, according to a report by the international relief organization Oxfam America, officials turned federal funding designated for rebuilding low-income housing to paying for Biloxi shipyard improvements.

To be sure, Galveston and the people who make a home there have many storm-related issues to contend with besides the restoration of public housing. Roads need repair and traffic signals remain on the blink. Many homeowners and business operators, as well as renters who paid market rates for their units, lost everything in the mid-September storm. The island’s tourism industry took a massive hit.

It’s easy to make addressing the needs of the poorest, most vulnerable citizens a backburner issue. But it wouldn’t be wise.

To do nothing for Galveston’s elderly and disabled who are without the means to help themselves is cruel. To pretend that others can just “get a job” and pick themselves up ignores reality. It’s simply not rational to expect people to go right out and find a job in a less-than-robust economy when they’ve just lost their transportation, child care and work clothes. Not having secure housing makes rebuilding their lives that much harder.

By making restoration of low-income housing a priority, federal and local authorities can keep those families - who need just a short-term safety net - from falling into a generational cycle of entrenched poverty and all the misery that entails.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 11, 2008

Rough outlines of Texas $178m Neighborhood Stabilization Program emerge

In an attempt to deal with the foreclosure crisis Congress has allocated substantial funding to cities, counties and states to buy up for close to an abandoned properties to prevent them from further depressing property values and causing neighborhoods to deteriorate. We will soon learn whether cities, counties and the state of Texas can successfully carry out this program. The critical planning process is going on now.

While the program has great potential to live up to its promise I have concerns about whether the program will be effectively administered in Texas.

Fifteen grantees across Texas will receive funding from HUD under the new HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program.  The Texas allocation totals $178,143,197.  The funding is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. These targeted funds will be used to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes at a discount and to rehabilitate or redevelop them in order to respond to rising foreclosures and falling home values.

State and local governments can use their neighborhood stabilization grants to acquire land and property; to demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties; and/or to offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers (household incomes not exceed 120 percent of area median income). In addition, these grantees can create “land banks” to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land for the purpose of stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging re-use or redevelopment of urban property.

Entities in Texas receiving funds direct from HUD are…

Community                NSP Allocation    Local Foreclosure Rate
TEXAS STATE PROGRAM      $101,996,848               3.2%
ARLINGTON                  $2,044,254               3.8%
DALLAS                     $7,932,555               3.7%
DALLAS COUNTY              $4,405,482               4.6%
EL PASO                    $3,032,465               5.1%
FORT BEND COUNTY           $2,796,177               3.4%
FORT WORTH                 $6,307,433               4.2%
GARLAND                    $2,040,196               5.0%
GRAND PRAIRIE              $2,267,290               5.3%
HARRIS COUNTY             $14,898,027               4.5%
HIDALGO COUNTY             $2,867,057               8.2%
HOUSTON                   $13,542,193               4.1%
MESQUITE                   $2,083,933               5.9%
SAN ANTONIO                $8,635,899               3.9%
TARRANT COUNTY             $3,293,388               2.9%

.

Now, let’s look at how the State of Texas, through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) proposes to use its share of the funds.

The State of Texas is required to submit a plan to HUD by December 1 for how the $101,996,848 in funds the state will receive will be utilized and programmed. The draft plan was posted by TDHCA on the agency’s website for public comment.

As with its regular Community Development Block Grant program, the state of Texas proposes to sub allocate the HUD funds to local units of government. I have doubts that this will result in an effective program in the case of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The reason being that this sort of activity is unprecedented, will require detailed and careful planning at the local level and there are no readily available models to follow. With each local jurisdiction likely to receive only a fairly small amount of funds I am concerned that the program may be under subscribed, local programs may suffer from delays and slow implementation, and program funds thus put in jeopardy.

I do understand however why the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs has elected to sub allocate funds rather than to attempt to implement the program itself. The sheer size of the state makes it difficult to centrally administer a program, the state is already administratively burdened with implementation of the Hurricane Rita housing rebuilding program and now with establishing programs to deal with the housing destruction brought about by Hurricane Ike and the department frankly lacks the administrative capacity to undertake direct administration.

As for the activities the state proposes, the state proposes to tell HUD that it will engage in virtually all of the eligible activities since the state does not know what the local grantees will propose.

{The] Department will propose a broader plan as it will be easier to cull activities that are underperforming and expand performing activities rather than justifying entirely new activities.  The following activities are proposed:
• Demolish blighted structures.
• Purchase abandoned or foreclosed homes with the intention to sell or rent properties.
• Provide financing such as mortgage financing for households earning 50% or less of the
area median income or down payment and closing cost assistance for households earning
up to 120% of the area median income.
• Acquire, demolish and/or rehabilitate foreclosed and blighted properties and hold
properties for up to 10 years in land banks.
• Redevelop demolished or vacant properties.

The Texas NSP anticipates making at least the following number of homes available to low-, moderate-, and middle-income households as a result of NSP-assisted activitieswithin the first two years of the program:

50% or less AMI: 250 units ($25,499,212)
51% to 80% AMI: 175 units ($28,148,975)
81% to 120% AMI: 115 units ($28,148,975)

The state proposes to allocate funds into three funding pools.

Program Distribution of Texas NSP Funds: 
Direct Allocation              $ 50,692,336
Select Pool                    $ 41,274,512
Land Banking                   $ 10,000,000
Administration (10%)           $ 10,196,685
Total Texas NSP Allocation     $101,966,848

.

Direct Allocation: The State will provide a reservation for a specified amount of direct
NSP allocation for use in the top-ranked counties identified based upon the need factors.

County Name Direct Texas NSP Allocation Need Score 
Tarrant           $7,320,349
Dallas             4,684,332
Cameron            3,465,632
Bexar              3,150,408
Hidalgo            3,005,258
Harris             2,875,584
Nueces             2,522,253
Collin             2,278,454
Webb               2,025,812
Travis             2,017,952
Montgomery         1,697,675
El Paso            1,648,634
Brazoria           1,586,234
Potter             1,579,681
Jefferson          1,498,945
Denton             1,166,500
Taylor             1,099,259
Williamson         1,066,554
Bell               1,064,488
Lubbock            1,057,705
Galveston          1,003,104
Wichita              803,464
Fort Bend            726,857
Ector                699,232
McLennan             647,971

.

Select pool:  An additional 76 counties are eligible to submit application as a Select Pool county: The list of these counties can be found in TDHCA’s draft plan posted on the agency’s web site.  To address HUD’s concern about allocating small amounts of funds that have no meaningful impact on stabilizing of property values in an area the awards will be a minimum of $500,000.

Land Banking: Land bank activities through TSAHC provides funding in greatest need communities for a land bank activity since many local communities interested in this activity do not currently have the capacity or authority to complete such transactions.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 10, 2008

Correcting Houston’s extreme shortage of government subsidized housing should be top priority


Traditionally public and  Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers play a major role in providing affordable housing within major US cities.  This is not the case in Houston however.

In excess of 60 percent of the affordable housing stock in Houston is privately owned unsubsidized housing.  Only about 10 percent is Section 8 subsidized and less than 3 percent is public housing.  Approximately 23 percent is subsidized by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

The city of Houston has the third smallest amount of Section 8 and public housing per city resident in poverty of the twenty largest US cities, behind Phoenix and Detroit.  Houston had one unit of public housing or one Section 8 voucher for every 22.5 of its citizens below the poverty level.

Remedying the deficit of public and Section 8 housing should be at the top of the city’s agenda. Houston city officials need to make their case to the new Obama administration that especially in the wake of a huge influx of new citizens with extremely low incomes from hurricanes Katrina and Rita and with the additional problems created by the destruction of housing in Southeast Texas by Hurricane Ike the city merits a major increase in the amount of these traditional government housing subsidies.

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Posted by: John Henneberger | November 9, 2008

Mayor White saves 1000 renters from eviction but fundamental low-income housing issues remain

Houston Mayor Bill White acted quickly and responsibly in preventing the owners of the 600 unit Houston La Casita apartment project from abandoning the property after collecting the rent money.  (