Heather K. Way
- Clinical Professor

Heather Way joined Texas Law in 2006 and directs the Law School’s Housing Policy Clinic and teaches in the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic. Her teaching, research, and law reform work focuses on addressing systemic housing and community development challenges that impact disadvantaged families and marginalized communities. A national expert in housing law and policy and frequent commentator in the media, Professor Way’s work has shaped numerous high-impact legal reforms that advance housing stability and close critical gaps in housing policy.
A lifelong Texan who grew up in the Texas Hill Country, Professor Way enjoys backpacking, trail running, and exploring the Austin region’s greenbelts and spring-fed swimming holes.
Featured Work
Heather Way is a Clinical Professor at Texas Law where she directs the Law School’s Housing Policy Clinic and teaches in the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic. A national expert in affordable housing and community development law, her work focuses on advancing housing justice, opening paths to economic opportunity, and fostering equitable and inclusive communities.
Professor Way’s work has shaped numerous high-impact legal reforms that advance housing stability and close critical gaps in housing policy, ensuring greater accountability and fairness in housing practices that impact low- and moderate-income families. Her recent projects include curbing predatory fees in rental housing and securing affordable housing requirements in tax-subsidized housing developments.
Professor Way is a leading authority on heirs’ property, a form of land ownership passed down across generations which disproportionately impacts African-American families. Her most recent scholarship has revealed the prevalence and unique challenges of heirs’ property in urban areas, the disproportionate risks of property tax foreclosure, and pervasive legal barriers preventing families from accessing critical property tax relief and disaster recovery aid. These findings have informed significant legal reforms, including legislation expanding heirs’ property homeowners’ access to homestead exemptions.
Professor Way serves on the governing committee of American Bar Association’s Affordable Housing and Community Development Forum and co-chairs the Forum’s Community Development Practitioners and Legal Educators Practice Group. Previously, Professor Way served as an advisor to the Uniform Law Commission’s Tenancy in Common Ownership Default Rules Drafting Committee. She founded the Uprooted Project, an initiative providing tools to address displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods and co-authored Real Property for the Real World, a book featuring hands-on case studies for property law students. A frequent media commentator, she has been interviewed by media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, and NPR.
After graduating from The University of Texas School of Law, where she was Grand Chancellor and co-founded the Public Interest Law Association, Professor Way clerked for the Honorable William Wayne Justice of the Eastern District of Texas and served as a Skadden Fellow at Legal Aid of Central Texas, representing low-income tenants and community organizations. She later co-founded and directed Texas Community Building with Attorney Resources (Texas C-BAR), a statewide initiative delivering pro bono transactional legal services to community organizations.
No publications or activities matching the current search and filters.
year-2019
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Other Publication
Place Matters: The Role of Public Housing Authorities in Expanding Inclusion in the US
Heather K. Way, Elizabeth Mueller & Jake Wegmann, and Deidre Zoll, "Place Matters: The Role of Public Housing Authorities in Expanding Inclusion in the US" (October 14, 2019). View online.
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Other Publication
Texas Anti-Displacement Toolkit
Heather K. Way. “Texas Anti-Displacement Toolkit.” (October 9, 2019). View online. -
Article
Strategies and Tools for Preserving Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties
Heather K Way, Lauren Loney, Strategies and Tools for Preserving Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties, 28(2) Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law 255 (2019). View Online
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Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Community Benefits Agreements: What's All the Buzz About?
Heather K. Way. “Community Benefits Agreements: What's All the Buzz About?” at 2019 Poverty Law Conference, State Bar of Texas (September 4, 2019). -
Article
The Guadalupe Neighborhood in Austin: 40 Years of Pushing Back Against Displacement
Heather K. Way, Elizabeth Mueller and Nicholas Armstrong. “The Guadalupe Neighborhood in Austin: 40 Years of Pushing Back Against Displacement.” In Shelterforce, (May 31, 2019). View online. -
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Residential Preference Policies and the Fair Housing Act
Heather K. Way. “Residential Preference Policies and the Fair Housing Act” at American Bar Association Affordable Housing and Community Development Forum Annual Conference (May 23, 2019). -
Article
Uprooted: Local Efforts to Mitigate Displacement in Gentrifying Neighborhoods
Heather K Way, Elizabeth Mueller and Ben Martin, Uprooted: Local Efforts to Mitigate Displacement in Gentrifying Neighborhoods, Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law 28(1) (Spring 2019). View Online
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Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
How to advocate for more equitable uses of tax increment financing and other tax subsidies to support community development and fair housing goals
Heather K. Way. "How to advocate for more equitable uses of tax increment financing and other tax subsidies to support community development and fair housing goals" webinar hosted by the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic (May 17, 2019).
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Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Gentrification and Displacement Mitigation Tools
Heather K. Way. “Gentrification and Displacement Mitigation Tools” at City of Dallas Housing Policy Taskforce, Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (May 9, 2019). -
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Community Land Trusts
Heather K. Way. “Community Land Trusts” at The Real Estate Council, Dallas, Texas (May 8, 2019). -
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Local Strategies to Address Displacement in Gentrifying Neighborhoods
Heather K. Way. "Local Strategies to Address Displacement in Gentrifying Neighborhoods" at 2019 Annual Conference, Texas Association of Community Development Corporations (March 5, 2019). View online.
year-2018
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Report
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program in Texas: Opportunities for State and Local Preservation Strategies
Heather K Way and Lauren Loney, The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program in Texas: Opportunities for State and Local Preservation Strategies (December 10, 2018). View Online
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Other Publication
Uprooted: Residential Displacement in Austin's Gentrifying Neighborhoods and What Can Be Done About It
Heather K. Way, Elizabeth Mueller and Jake Wegmann. “Uprooted: Residential Displacement in Austin's Gentrifying Neighborhoods and What Can Be Done About It.” (September 18, 2018). View online. -
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
From Cities to Colonias: Strategies to Stop the Regeneration of Heirs' Property
Heather K. Way. "From Cities to Colonias: Strategies to Stop the Regeneration of Heirs' Property" at Conference on Heirs Property in the South: Fostering Stable Ownership to Prevent Land Loss and Abandonment, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (June 15, 2018). View online.
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Opinion/Editorial
America made a promise in 1968. It's time to keep it.
Heather K. Way. “America made a promise in 1968. It's time to keep it..” In CNN.com (April 12, 2018). View online. -
Opinion/Editorial
America made a promise in 1968. It’s time to keep it
Heather K. Way. "America made a promise in 1968. It’s time to keep it". CNN (April 12, 2018). View online.
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Other Activity
Quoted in Atlantic Monthly article on predatory lending with seller financing products
Heather K. Way. “Quoted in Atlantic Monthly article on predatory lending with seller financing products” (April 10, 2018). View online. -
Opinion/Editorial
Beware when renting an apartment in Houston
Heather K. Way. “Beware when renting an apartment in Houston.” In Houston Chronicle (February 11, 2018). View online. -
Report
Out of Order: Houston's Dangerous Apartment Epidemic
Heather K. Way, Carol Fraser. “Out of Order: Houston's Dangerous Apartment Epidemic” ( February 6, 2018). View online. -
Other Activity
Quoted in Houston Chronicle article on Houston's dangerous apartment epidemic
Heather K. Way. “Quoted in Houston Chronicle article on Houston's dangerous apartment epidemic” (February 6, 2018). View online.