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-2015
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Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Low-Income Homeowners and the Problem of Tangled Titles: Innovative Strategies to Secure Homeownership Assets
Heather K. Way. “Low-Income Homeowners and the Problem of Tangled Titles: Innovative Strategies to Secure Homeownership Assets” at ABA/NLADA Equal Justice Conference (May 8, 2015). -
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Legal Hot Topics in Community Development
Heather K. Way. “Legal Hot Topics in Community Development” at Texas Association of Community Development Corporations Annual Conference (April 2015). -
Opinion/Editorial
Texas must do more to create inclusive affordable housing
Heather K. Way. "Texas must do more to create inclusive affordable housing," in Austin American-Statesman and San Antonio Express News (April 2015). View online.
year-2014
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Article
Contracts for Deed: Charting Risks and New Paths for Advocacy
Heather K Way and Lucille D Wood, Contracts for Deed: Charting Risks and New Paths for Advocacy, 23(1) Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development 37 (2014). View Online
year-2013
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Article
Contracts for Deed: Charting Risks and New Paths for Advocacy
Lucille D. Wood, Contracts for Deed: Charting Risks and New Paths for Advocacy, 47 Clearinghouse Review 286 (2013) (with Heather K. Way). -
Report
Addressing Problem Properties: Legal and Policy Tools for a Safer Rundberg and Safer Austin
Heather K. Way. “Addressing Problem Properties: Legal and Policy Tools for a Safer Rundberg and Safer Austin” ( August 13, 2013). View online. -
Book Chapter
The 2008 Texas Hurricanes: Working for Equitable and Transparent Redevelopment
Heather K. Way, The 2008 Texas Hurricanes: Working for Equitable and Transparent Redevelopment, in Building Community Resilience Post-Disaster (Dorcas R. Gilmore & Diane M. Standaert, American Bar Association, 2013). -
Article
Homeownership Without a Net
Lucille D. Wood, Heather K. Way. “Homeownership Without a Net.” In Shelterforce, (Spring 2013). View online.
year-2012
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Other Activity
Opportunity Forum Gentrification Series: Protecting Tenants Displaced from Redevelopment Projects
Heather K. Way. “Opportunity Forum Gentrification Series: Protecting Tenants Displaced from Redevelopment Projects” at LBJ School of Public Affairs (October 26, 2012). -
Other Activity
Research discussed in Informal contracts still put many Texas homeowners at risk, UT study shows
Research discussed in "Informal contracts still put many Texas homeowners at risk, UT study shows" at Austin American-Statesman (October 21, 2012). View online.
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Other Activity
Interviewed for news story, Breakdown of Austin's 2012 Tax and Fee Increases
Interviewed for news story, Breakdown of Austin's 2012 Tax and Fee Increases, KUT (September 12, 2012). View online.
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Report
The Contract for Deed Prevalence Project
Heather K. Way, Peter Ward, Lucy Wood. "The Contract for Deed Prevalence Project" (Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, August 31, 2012). View online here (executive summary) and here (full report).
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Report
Tenant Displacement in Austin
Heather K. Way. “Tenant Displacement in Austin” ( August 31, 2012). View online. -
Other Activity
Expanding Fair Housing Opportunities for Low-Income Minority Families
Heather K. Way. “Expanding Fair Housing Opportunities for Low-Income Minority Families” at UT School of Law (March 22, 2012). -
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Next Generation of Smart Growth: The Mueller Community
Heather K. Way. “Next Generation of Smart Growth: The Mueller Community” at New Partners for Smart Growth Conference (February 2, 2012).
year-2011
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Other Activity
LBJ School of Public Affairs and William Wayne Justice Center Collaborate on a ‘Contract for Deed’ Study in Texas Colonias
Heather K. Way. “LBJ School of Public Affairs and William Wayne Justice Center Collaborate on a ‘Contract for Deed’ Study in Texas Colonias” (October 1, 2011). -
Other Publication
Fair Housing Legal Toolkit for Permanent Supportive Housing Providers: Addressing Local Opposition to PSH Developments
Heather K. Way. “Fair Housing Legal Toolkit for Permanent Supportive Housing Providers: Addressing Local Opposition to PSH Developments.” (April 30, 2011). View online. -
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Linking Transportation and Affordable Housing
Heather K. Way. “Linking Transportation and Affordable Housing” at Presentation for the City of Austin's Affordable Housing Forum (January 31, 2011). View online.
year-2010
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Report
Furthering Fair Housing Choices for Voucher Tenants
Heather K. Way. “Furthering Fair Housing Choices for Voucher Tenants” (Housing Works Austin, August 31, 2010). View online. -
Article
Reflections: The Honorable William Wayne Justice
Heather K. Way, Reflections: The Honorable William Wayne Justice, 89 Texas Law Review 11 (2010). View Article