TDHCA April 2025 Meeting Highlights

The TDHCA convened its board meeting at 10:05 am on April 10, 2024, at the Greer Bldg, 125 East 11th Street Austin, Texas 78701.

April 10 Meeting Summary

Consent Agenda report approved.

Resolutions

Michael Lyttle, Director of External Affairs

• Resolution Recognizing May as Community Action Month
• Resolution Recognizing April as Fair Housing Month

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

• Amy Hammond invited to join compliance panel with State of Georgia.
• TDHCA staff invited to present at Southwestern Affordable Housing Management Association conference.
• Homeowners Assistance Fund concluding with final payments going out tomorrow. Program has assisted 58,536 households with average assistance of $12,657 per household. Total of $741.9 million in assistance paid to date.
• Legislative update on Senate Bill 1 (General Appropriations Act) being taken up by House
• Discussion of pending legislation affecting TDHCA operations:
  • Industry bill to increase development cap from 2 million to 3 million
  • Migrant farm worker bill to expand program scope
  • Bill to expand state tax credit
  • Bill requiring security cameras in tax credit developments
  • Bill requiring backup power for elevators and common areas
  • Chairman mentioned personal efforts (not as TDHCA chair) to advance legislation allowing multiple 9% competitive rounds per year instead of just one annual opportunity

HOME-ARP Allocation Plan – Third Amendment

Agenda Item 21: What was discussed

• The Board considered and approved a Third Amendment to the HOME-ARP Allocation Plan to revise the eligibility criteria for Nonprofit Capacity Building and Operating (NCO) funding.
• This amendment was necessary to reopen and broaden access to the 2025 NCO Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), which had been suspended in March 2025 due to restrictive geographic criteria that excluded many interested applicants.
  Key changes in eligibility:
• The original NOFA limited eligibility to counties where:
  • Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a 1-bedroom rose by 30% or more from 2021–2025 and
  • FY2025 1-bedroom FMRs by county were at or above $1,000 (top 10% of rents in the state)
• New criteria keep the 30% rent increase requirement but expand eligibility to counties in the top 20% of 1-bedroom FMRs (approximately $902 FMR for a one-bedroom).
  • This change expands the number of eligible counties from 45 to 64.

Next steps:

If HUD approves the Third Amendment, the 2025 NCO NOFA will be reinstated in mid-April 2025 with revised eligibility and potentially updated scoring criteria.

• The revised application window is expected to run from May 7 to June 6, 2025.
• Updates will be announced via public email list and the TDHCA website.

Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) Rule Waiver and Amendment

Abigail Versyp, Director, Single Family and Homeless Programs

What was discussed:

• Agenda Item 22: The Board approved a temporary waiver of the 60-month lifetime limit on Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) for households where all adults are Persons with Disabilities (PWD). This waiver is valid for six months or until a related rule amendment is adopted—whichever comes first.
• Agenda Item 23: The Board proposed a rule amendment to 10 TAC §23.50(f), which would permanently allow certain PWD households to receive TBRA beyond the 60-month limit under specific conditions. The amendment will be published for public comment from April 25, 2025 to May 25, 2025.

Why it matters:

• TBRA is a temporary housing program requiring participation in a self-sufficiency plan.
• PWD households on fixed incomes may not have a feasible path to increased earned income, making permanent housing support more appropriate.
• Limited availability of Section 8 vouchers has created urgent gaps in support for these households.

Eligibility for the extended assistance under the proposed rule:

• All adult household members must be PWD.
• Majority of household income must come from disability-related benefits.
• Gross income must not exceed 50% of Area Median Family Income (AMFI).
• Circumstances preventing self-sufficiency are expected to persist.
• HUD funding for TBRA must remain available.

Related Discussion: Homelessness Strategies

• Board members asked staff for recommendations on the most effective homelessness solutions and relevant research.
• Staff emphasized that homelessness often results from failures across multiple systems—education, justice, and healthcare.
• Discussion highlighted the “housing-first” approach versus models requiring services before housing. Keeping people housed before they fall into homelessness—is critical.
• Successful models cited:

• • Houston Area Coalition for the Homeless – nationally recognized for scattered-site housing.
  • New Hope Housing (Joy Horak Brown provided testimony): Developed over 1,000 apartments, many for chronically homeless individuals.
  • Other examples: Haven for Hope in San Antonio and Community First! Village in Austin.

Adoption of Amendments to 10 TAC Chapter 10, Subchapter E (Post Award and Asset Management Requirements)

AGENDA ITEM 24:

Background

• The Board approved proposed amendments to 10 TAC Chapter 10, Subchapter E for publication in the Texas Register on December 12, 2024.
• The amendments were published on December 27, 2024, with a public comment period open through January 27, 2025.
• The most notable proposed change was to §10.406, which would require documentation of continued support from a municipality or county when an ownership change would result in a property tax exemption—such as the addition of a Public Facility Corporation, Housing Finance Corporation, or Public Housing Authority.
• Public comments raised concerns regarding the requirement for documentation of continued support for municipality or the county for changes to the ownership structure that result in property tax exemptions.
• In response to the public comments, the proposed amendment was revised to identify that the requirement for documentation of continent support from the municipality or the county only applies to competitive housing tax credit developments for the addition of a public facility corporation, a housing finance corporation or a public housing authority that will result in a property tax exemption prior to the issuance of IRS Forms 8609.
• Additional language was added to identify that a letter of support from a city manager is also acceptable. These changes are in line with what has been requested informally for these types of requests recently.
• No other changes were made to the proposed rules. A blackline version showing all amendments was included in the Board packet.
• Based on the revised proposal and public feedback, staff recommended adoption of the updated rules and their publication in the Texas Register.

Board Discussion:

• Board members expressed concern that allowing letters from individual officials (like mayors or city managers) instead of formal resolutions from elected bodies reduced transparency, especially since such ownership changes often result in properties coming off local tax rolls.
• Several members emphasized the importance of public accountability and questioned the appropriateness of allowing unelected officials (e.g., city managers) to provide sole approval for tax-exempt ownership changes.
• Legal staff advised that while the “city manager” language had been added post-publication in response to comments, it could be removed without triggering a new rulemaking cycle.

Final Action:

• The Board voted to adopt the rule but removed the newly added “or city manager” option for letters of support.
• They agreed to initiate a future rulemaking cycle to possibly remove the remaining options allowing support letters from mayors, preferring that all such support be formalized via city council or commissioners court resolutions.

Adjourned at 12:02 pm.

Next TDHCA Meeting: Thursday, May 8, 2025