‘Disastrous’ rules eyed for supportive housing
People with a criminal history could be barred from accessing supportive housing for decades, if a draft set of rules from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is signed as-is.
If the new rules are enacted, people who are on a sex offender registry (national or state) or have been convicted for “illegal manufacture or distribution” of drugs would be permanently banned. People who have been convicted of violent felonies would be barred for three years, nonviolent felonies get a potential tenant barred for at least two years, and anyone with a Class A misdemeanor would be barred for at least a year.
“This will have a disastrous impact on potential clients of supporting housing projects,” said
Elizabeth Roehm, a staff attorney at Texas Housers. “Supportive housing projects are meant to serve very vulnerable populations who may have had contact with the criminal justice system. If instated, it would require the housing providers to screen out potential tenants.”
Roehm said that the new rules are contrary to what providers have thought of as best practices.
“A big concept in the homelessness provider world is housing first — the idea that people need to be able to access low-barrier housing,” she said. “These proposed tenant screenings for criminal history flies in the face of that.”
The new rules allow for an appeals process if the property chooses to include it, that could include documented treatment or letters of recommendation.
Kristina Tirloni, TDHCA spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that the language was put in to “make sure that there is a basic level of minimum consideration as it relates to tenant admission policies.” She added that in the 2020 application period, there had been applications submitted that didn’t have tenant selection criteria.
At a September TDHCA board meeting, an agency staffer said the change was in response to complaints.
“There was quite an outpouring from community members and others regarding the lack of what they felt to be sort of a safety check to have a supportive housing development in their community,” TDHCA Director of Multifamily Finance Marni Holloway said.
She did not specify who complained. Neither she nor Tirloni provided statistics showing there was a crime problem at TDHCAbacked housing. Tirloni said she’s unaware of anyone keeping such data.
Catherine Villarreal, communications director for the Coalition for the Homeless, said the group was opposed to the proposed changes because they created more barriers for tenants.
“A large percentage of
“This will have a disastrous impact on potential clients of supporting housing projects.”
Elizabeth Roehm, Texas Housers attorney
our clients are housed at tax credit properties,” she said in an emailed statement. “We’d like to see any reference to tenant background be eliminated.”
She added that the rules would disproportionately impact Black people, as they are overrepresented in both the criminal justice and homeless systems due to systemic racism.
Joy Horak-Brown, CEO of New Hope Housing, submitted a comment asking for not only changes to the language, but for any tenant selection criteria to be moved somewhere else. By putting the language in what’s called the “qualified allocation plan,” the agency enshrines it for decades in the rules for any successful applications. A successful applicant could modify the agreement, HorakBrown said, but it’s a long, cumbersome process.
The draft is open for public comment until Oct. 9. After the comment period closes, staff will sift through responses, make edits and present the rules to the TDHCA board. The approved rules must be sent to the governor by Nov. 15 and signed by Dec. 1.