Rent

After years of falling short, Austin is making gains in growing the number of affordable housing units.

According to data from Zillow, average rents in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro now outpace those in Austin for the first time since at least 2015.

Applications to the city’s rental assistance program have been closed since February. Council members voted this summer to reup the program with about $3.6 million in funding.

Hundreds of thousands of renters in the Austin area are, quite literally, burdened by the price of shelter, meaning they have less income to spend on groceries, transportation and healthcare.

Since May 2023, the average monthly rent in the Austin area has declined. Prices are down 6% compared to this time last year.

The tenants union, launched Sunday, is intended to help students handle issues common to many renters in the city, such as escalating rents and delayed repairs. It plans to hold biweekly meetings and advocate for more affordable and accessible housing.

A recent study found nearly half of Austin's renters are paying a third of their paycheck (at least) on housing. Another showed renters need to make $26 an hour to comfortably afford a one-bedroom here.

This month, the average rent for an apartment any size is $1,679 a month — $34 less than it was this time last year.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will take applications for rental assistance until noon on Thursday, almost two weeks earlier than planned.

To answer that question, we need to go back to World War II and the era of federal rent control.