Tag: Housing Policy Clinic: Cases and Projects

In May 2026, Housing Policy Clinic student Alex Vail ’27 co-authored a report published by the National Consumer Law Center. The report, “Tenant Insecurity How Security Deposit “Alternatives” Raise Tenant’ Costs and Erode Their Protections“, was referenced in New York Times article “More Renters Are Using Tools to Skip Security Deposits, but There’s a Catch”. […]

The homestead exemption is one of Texas’s most important tools for supporting homeownership and reducing property tax burdens, yet many eligible homeowners do not receive it despite recent legislative expansions. This policy brief examines the causes of the homestead exemption gap and outlines practical strategies for state and local leaders to increase exemption uptake and […]

This report provides the first analysis of Travis County’s expanding Tax-Exempt Private Partnership (TEPP) landscape for multifamily housing. It highlights critical gaps in policy and oversight and offers recommendations to address these shortcomings through reforms that ensure the TEPP tool is a sustainable and impactful part of local affordable housing strategies.

This policy guide presents four state legislative reforms to protect vulnerable homeowners in Texas from steep property tax hikes and create a more equitable tax system. Texas’ property tax system creates significant challenges for low and moderate-income homeowners, particularly in neighborhoods with rapidly rising property values. Many homeowners with fixed incomes or limited resources face […]

Adequately funded replacement reserves play a critical role in the long-term financial and physical viability of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties but are often inadequate to address a property’s capital needs. This report examines Texas’ policies related to replacement reserves at LIHTC properties and how these policies could be improved to help ensure […]

Students in the Fall 2023 Housing Policy Clinic submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission for the Commission’s Proposed Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees. Students wrote about the application of the proposed rule to address the prolific use of unfair and deceptive fees in the rental housing industry. The students offered evidence […]

This report examines the troubling and growing array of fees that tenants are confronting in the Texas rental housing market. These charges, also known as “junk fees,” obscure the true price of housing and prevent comparison shopping; they impose financial strains on tenants and create barriers to affordable housing access. The report includes five categories […]