The Housing Authority of the City of Austin is opening its waitlist for three affordable housing complexes it operates.
“We fully recognize the tremendous challenge to affordable housing and affordability in the community right now,” Michael Roth, HACA’s director of housing operations, told KUT.
Residents who live in public housing pay roughly a third of their income toward rent, a portion the federal government has decided is affordable for families. The announcement comes as renters in Austin have experienced an upswing in rent prices over the past two years, although the rise has started slowing.
Applications are open now and close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
To qualify, people need to earn no more than 80% of the median income of families in the area. (For a household of two, this is $70,600 a year.)
People can apply to live in homes in parts of North and East Austin: Pathways at Northloop, Pathways at Santa Rita Courts and Pathways at Thurmond Heights. These units represent about a fifth of the homes the authority oversees. It anticipates housing becoming available in the next year.
A spokesperson for the housing authority said it typically takes anywhere from one to three years to get off a waitlist and into housing.
