The main goal of this petition is to spark conversation and hopefully develop change in order to provide more equal and affordable housing in the state of Texas.

Recently I reached out to my apartment to get some information on my upcoming lease, as I had a suspicion it was going to go up based on what I’ve seen here for new rooms, and other facilities. They replied back that it could be as high as $1543. I started off around $1100 in 2018 when I moved in and now with all fees included pay about $1300. That’s $200-300$ potential increase after already raising my rent each year.

However I am not alone. A quick google search of “Texas Rent cap” will link to several articles detailing many residents with similar stories or rent take a sharp upward turn. Unfortunately for Texas renters there is little legally that can be done. McCaw Property Management notes (as of 2022)

• There are no rent stabilization or rent control laws in Texas, landlords can raise the rent by as much as they wish
• there is no law requiring Texas landlords to give their tenants a notice of rent increase.

Further even if change was to be considered it’s a very difficult, slow and often political process. Brasuell writes “Texas allows rent control only if a city’s governing body determines there’s a housing emergency caused by a disaster. Even then, the decision to enact such a policy must be approved by the governor”.Similarly help such as Texas Rent Relief has exacerbated their funding and are set to revive less moving forward.

If that hasn’t convinced you enough here are some Economic statistics to highlight how and why these rental spikes are hard hitting. According to the U.S Census Bureau:

• median rental price (2016-2020) averaged at $1082.
• the median household income (2016-2020) was $63,826
  The per capita income for 75070 was $46,231 ($1778 biweekly before taxes)

Other goals would be to also (as cited by the Texas Tenets Union)

• Add a provision in the Property Code requiring advanced notice of a rent increase. Require at least 90 days’ written notice if rent goes up by more than 5%.
• Cancel erroneous fees: Define rent as the total monthly costs to retain housing, with the exception of costs that fluctuate, like utilities. Prohibit transfer fees and new deposits when tenants are moving due to substandard conditions

One signature is one voice, and while that may be whisper eventually it will be a conversation. Please consider signing this petition and forwarding it. Thank you!!

References:

• (https://texasrentrelief.com
• (https://www.planetizen.com/news/2022/02/116095-rising-rental-costs-texas-prompt-rent-control-discussion?amp
• https://mccawpropertymanagement.com/texas-law-rent-increase/
• https://txtenants.org/policy-recommendations/
• https://www.taa.org
• https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/TX