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For immediate release: August 17, 2016
Contact: Nicholas Solorzano, 512.978.2103
City Council Poised to Vote on Tenant Relocation Assistance
Program Tomorrow
AUSTIN - This Thursday, City Council will be voting on amending city code to establish the Tenant Relocation Assistance Program. This program is aimed at combating the impacts of Austin's growing housing crisis by ensuring that when vulnerable tenants of mutifamily and mobile home parks are face with displacement, they are given essential protections, such as adequate notice, access to financial assistance funds, and other forms of relocation assistance.
Former Council Member Laura Morrison initiated a resolution in 2012 that kick-started the conversation about how our community can help protect displaced families. The next year Mayor Pro Tem Tovo forwarded a resolution addressing emergency tenant relocation. In November 2015, Council Member Renteria authored a resolution in a similar spirit that called for protections for displaced families in response to the high profile displacement of the Lakeview Apartments residents in District 3. Housing advocates and Austin residents, along with the Mayor Pro Tem Tovo and Council Members Renteria, Casar, Kitchen, and Pool will discuss the importance of the program at a press conference tomorrow just prior to the regular Council Meeting.
This Thursday, City Council will be voting on amending city code to establish the Tenant Relocation Assistance Program. This program is aimed at combating the impacts of Austin's growing housing crisis by ensuring that when vulnerable tenants of mutifamily and mobile home parks are faced with displacement, they are given essential protections, such as adequate notice, access to financial assistance funds, and other forms of relocation assistance.
Over the past several months, the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development department have conducted numerous stakeholder meetings to create the bounds for this ordinance. Key recommendations include establishing a tenant relocation assistance program and creating criteria for when landlords are required to provide notice and payment to their tenants when displacement will occur.
In 2012, law students and faculty at UT Law School clinic issued a report that analyzed the damaging impacts of tenant displacement in Austin and how other cities have addressed this issue. “One of our key recommendations was the adoption of a city-wide displacement assistance ordinance," says Professor Heather Way, one of the co-authors of the report. “The ordinance going before the Council this week is aligned with our recommendations and is a major step forward in helping out vulnerable Austin families as their older apartments are demolished to make way for higher-end development.”
“I’m pleased to see the City move forward with such critical protections for renters,” said Mayor Pro Tem Tovo. “The rapid pace of redevelopment in Austin has created what is often a stressful and financially difficult environment for low income renters, and I’m hopeful that this ordinance will help more renters transition into safe, affordable housing.
“In Austin, some developers have profited from redevelopment without providing assistance for the families they have displaced. Our community has had to pick up the tab and pick up the pieces of displacement for too long,” said Council Member Renteria. “This resolution is a major step forward in making sure that displaced Austin families experience the security, stability, and dignity everyone deserves."
Tenant Relocation is Item 94 on the City Council agenda.
What: Press conference on Tenant Relocation Assistance Program
When: Thursday, August 18th at 9am
Where: Austin City Hall Media Room
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