Petition for Change 

Thousands of individuals are being forced out of their homes. They are veterans, people with disabilities, the aging community, families with young children, and the youth. Rent increases every year, but the minimum wage in Texas has been the same for decades. This is unacceptable!

We are calling for Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, the Dallas City Council, and the Dallas Housing Authority to take action and make Texas an affordable place to live.  

These are our Demands:

1. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) should work with the Dallas Housing Authority to allocate additional vouchers for Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) programs. The organization needs HUD to monitor the development of PSH units, so they become available in all neighborhoods at an equal rate. 
2.  Place a cap on rent. We are asking that Mayor Eric Johnson and other Dallas leaders place a cap on the amount landlords can increase for rent. We understand that renting a home is a business, and this is how landlords make money. However, rent increases more than wage growth, making it impossible for working families to keep up. We recommend the cap be based on inflation or a percentage, such as 3-5% per year. This way, landlords can still get paid and have money to make repairs, and tenants are not forced out.
3.  Additional funding for HUD is vital, yet it is underfunded in the state of Texas. Many have been on the waiting list for years and have never gotten into the program because HUD simply can’t afford it. We are requesting that HUD programs receive an increase in funding so that the Section 8 program can better support its efforts, and more grants can be allocated to nonprofits to provide rental assistance to their families.
4. HUD should prioritize revising Fair Market Rent (FMR) calculations to reflect current rent trends, updating income eligibility standards, and ensuring that housing assistance aligns with actual wages. Immediate modernization of HUD’s approaches is necessary to address affordability and support economic stability, so that households earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour (about $15,000 a year) have realistic access to safe and stable housing.
5. Homelessness is an issue that extends beyond the housing need and is a violation of human rights. Every Texan should have the opportunity to afford a home. 

Sign this petition to demand that our leader to take action now!