Affordable Housing

Council members voted Thursday to amend the city's land use rules, allowing developers to build up to three homes where only one or two were previously permitted.

A new Harvard University study found an increase in the number of Texas households headed by people 65 or older spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Advocates say keeping older adults housed will require substantial public investment and reforms.

At each of the apartment buildings, rent went up as much as 25%. While tenants received notice of the increase from the previous owner, it came weeks before the city and its partner finalized the purchase. Raising rents appears to have been a condition of the sale.

Relocating a home in Austin can be complicated and expensive. On Thursday, the city said it would look at how to remove those barriers.

The proposed changes include increasing the number of homes that can be built on a piece of land. The first of three public hearings is Thursday.

A group of homeowners is asking a judge to scrap policies that encourage developers to build affordable housing by letting them bypass building restrictions without going through the usual public process.

Affordability Unlocked is a program that lets developers ignore certain building restrictions. In exchange, they must rent or sell half of the homes they build to people earning low incomes.

The city allows residents to store RVs and tiny homes on their property. But this would allow people to live in them, which supporters say helps create more affordable and diverse housing options.

The city tried to build the home on a piece of land it owns in West Austin. Neighbors sued, saying the lawsuit had nothing to do with low-income housing. The city said it had everything to do with it.

The change reduces the land size to 2,500 square feet. That's more than half of what the current rules say — 5,750 square feet.