Posts categorized as:

Housing

map of prohibited areas for AHF development in houston

Houston still doesn’t have enough reentry housing for people on parole

By Jeff Reichman / July 11, 2023

In 2018, Houston City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to regulate reentry housing for people on parole, despite significant opposition. Five years later, the ordinance not only regulates existing facilities, but it also effectively prevents new housing. Just like activists said it would. The ordinance addresses alternate housing facilities (AHFs), which are for-profit entities that…

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harris county property tax protest success rates

Property tax protests aren’t as successful as they used to be

By Jeff Reichman / May 2, 2023

April brings many things to Houston. Beautiful migratory birds on their journey northwards. The sweet smell of star jasmine wafting among budding oak tree canopies. And a renewed sense of frustration at a fat property tax assessment. As a homeowner in Houston, I keep my eyes out for that letter in the mail. I’ve got…

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The ultimate eviction data dictionary for Harris County

By Jeff Reichman / March 30, 2023

For several years, we have collected Harris County eviction data from the courts every day, made it available on a real-time dashboard, and published several analyses of the data. Harris County has some of the best eviction court data available in the country, and as a result, we have been cleaning and sharing the data…

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Ranking of cities by eviction in 2022 highlighting Harris County, TX

A scary new era for evictions in Harris County

By David McClendon / March 7, 2023

As we approach the three-year anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re entering a scary new era for evictions in Harris County. Evictions aren’t just back to normal, they’re higher than ever before. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a sharp drop in eviction filings. Across the country, eviction filings fell…

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image of map showing property tax protest success rates for homeowners in houston

Homeowners in Houston do better when they protest property taxes on their own

By Jeff Reichman / April 27, 2022

The Houston housing market is hot. Inventory is low and demand is high. From March 2021 to March 2022, the average price of a single family home went up an astonishing 19.3%. With rising market prices comes an increase in tax assessed values. Property tax protest season is here, and you have until May 15…

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map of galveston island

Galveston has a housing crisis on multiple fronts

By David McClendon / October 27, 2021

For the past two years, the city of Galveston, Texas has been my home. Located about an hour southeast of Houston, Galveston is an island community that has the perfect blend of beachtown kitsch and rich historical character. It’s also been a great place to ride out the pandemic – I even took up surfing!…

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chart of weekly cdc declarations in harris county eviction cases

Only 13% of defendants invoked the CDC eviction moratorium in Harris County

By Jeff Reichman / August 2, 2021

The CDC eviction moratorium was supposed to prevent evictions. When the CDC first announced the moratorium in September 2020, a CNN headline shouted Evictions Are Halted, noting that it “covered most renters across the US.” The moratorium lasted almost eleven months. During that time, we found 3,289 cases where the policy delayed or prevented an…

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featured image for january advisors tarrant county eviction moratorium article

First Results of the CDC Eviction Moratorium in Tarrant County

By David McClendon / April 1, 2021

The CDC eviction moratorium is the latest in a patchwork of policy solutions designed to prevent evictions. Since the pandemic began, there have been an unprecedented number of new housing policies across the country at all levels of government. But an eviction moratorium does not mean that evictions have stopped. This article analyzes the impact…

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table showing results by court of the cdc eviction moratorium

First Results of the CDC Eviction Moratorium in Houston

By Jeff Reichman / February 8, 2021

The CDC eviction moratorium is the main federal policy to reduce housing displacement during the pandemic. It took effect on September 4, 2020 and remains authorized through the end of March 2021. When applied, the moratorium can be a powerful force to pause an eviction. The criteria to qualify are pretty broad. Landlords must make…

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Evictions in Houston: Two Months Into COVID-19

By Jeff Reichman / May 18, 2020

On March 18, 2020, the Texas Supreme Court put a temporary stay on eviction proceedings across the state. That temporary stay expires today, and there are no indictions that it will be extended. While this stay prevented nearly all evictions during this two month period, it allowed landlords to continue filing eviction cases. This means…

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