Affordable Housing In Houston
Harris County,
Texas
264 Low Income Apartment Communities In Houston
Heights House Apartments
Creekbend Gardens
W Leo Daniels Towers
There are 264 low income housing apartment complexes which contain 43,458 affordable apartments for rent in Houston. Many of these rental apartments are income based housing with 13,143 apartments that set rent based on your income. In Houston, HUD housing programs support 6,180 rental assistance apartments through programs like Project-based Section 8. There are 29,856 other low income apartments that don't have rental assistance but are cheaper than market rate rents.
Housing Authorities that serve Houston
| Housing Authority | Programs |
|---|---|
| Houston Housing Authority | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing |
| Harris County-Other Dhap Only | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) |
Other Housing Authorities located in Houston
| Housing Authority | Programs |
|---|---|
| Harris County Housing Authority | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) |
Guide To Affordable Housing in Houston, Texas
Houston, TX Affordable Housing Snapshot
| Total Affordable Apartment Properties | 264 |
|---|---|
| Total Low Income Apartments | 43,458 |
| Total Rent Assisted Apartments | 13,143 |
| Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters | 56.31% |
| Average Renter Household Size | 2.53 |
| Total Population | 2,217,706 |
| Housing Units | 814,599 |
| Average Household Size | 2.68 |
| Median Household Income | $46,187 ±$415 |
| Median Rent | $873 ±$5 |
| Percentage Of Renters Overburdened | 47.25% ± 0.7pp |
Population and Household Demographics
Houston is a City in Harris County, Texas with a population of 2,217,706. There are 814,599 households in the city with an average household size of 2.68 persons. 56.31% of households in Houston are renters.
Income and Rent Overburden in Houston
The median gross income for households in Houston is $46,187 a year, or $3,849 a month. The median rent for the city is $873 a month.
Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Houston, a household making less than $2,910 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 47.25% of households who rent are overburdened in Houston.1
Area Median Income In Houston
Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by one's income. Each household's income is compared to the incomes of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD.
HUD often uses an area larger than a city to determine the AMI because HUD anticipates those searching for housing will look beyond individual cities during their housing search. For Houston, the AMI is calculated from all households within Harris County.
In Houston, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $76,300
Most affordable housing programs determine eligibility based on the percent of AMI a given household's income is. Among the programs that determine eligibility based on the AMI are Section 8, HOME, LIHTC, Section 515, 202 and 811.
Rental Assistance in Houston
Rental assistance is a type of housing subsidy that pays for a portion of a renter’s monthly housing costs, including rent and tenant paid utilities. This housing assistance can come in the form of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, project-based Section 8 contracts, public housing, USDA Rental Assistance (in Section 515 properties) as well as HUD Section 202 and 811 properties for elderly and disabled households.
Income Qualifications for Houston HUD Rental Assistance in Houston
| Income | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30% of Median | $16,050 | $18,350 | $21,330 | $25,750 | $30,170 | $34,590 | $39,010 | $43,430 |
| 50% of Median | $26,750 | $30,550 | $34,350 | $38,150 | $41,250 | $44,300 | $47,350 | $50,400 |
| 80% of Median | $42,750 | $48,850 | $54,950 | $61,050 | $65,950 | $70,850 | $75,750 | $80,600 |
Low Income Housing Tax Credits in Houston
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program aims to create affordable rental housing for low and very low income families.
From 1988 to 2010, 131 low income apartment communities containing 28,967 rental apartments have been constructed and made affordable to low income persons in Houston by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
If your income is less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you should not expect to pay more than the rent value for a unit in the table below. However, Affordable apartment communities that receive funding through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program may have rental units that are not subject to income and rent limits.
Rent limits for the LIHTC Program are determined so that a household making the maximum income for the expected household size of the unit would only pay 30% of their income for rent.
Income Qualifications for Low Income Housing Tax Credit Apartments in Houston
| Income | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% of Median | $26,750 | $30,550 | $34,350 | $38,150 | $41,250 | $44,300 | $47,350 | $50,400 |
| 60% of Median | $32,100 | $36,660 | $41,220 | $45,780 | $49,500 | $53,160 | $56,820 | $60,480 |
For example, the expected household size for a two bedroom apartment is 3 people. Using the table above, the maximum income for a 3 person household at 60% of the AMI in Houston is $41,220 a year, or $3,435 a month. To determine the maximum rent in the table below we multiply the monthly maximum income, $3,435 by 30% to get a maximum rent of $1,031 a month.
Rent for units in the LIHTC Program include a utility allowance which is determined by the average monthly cost of utilities paid directly by residents. This allowance has not been subtracted from the rents in the table below. These utility allowances are set on a property by property basis.
| % of AMI | Studio | 1 Bed | 2 Bed | 3 Bed | 4 Bed | 5 Bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | $669 | $716 | $859 | $993 | $1,108 | $1,222 |
| 60% | $803 | $860 | $1,031 | $1,191 | $1,329 | $1,466 |
Fair Market Rents in Houston
Fair Market Rents, often abbreviated as FMR, can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Notably, Fair Market Rents are used to establish the payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, maximum rents in HOME financed rental projects and initial rents for Section 8 project based assistance.
2019 Fair Market Rents
| Studio | One BR | Two BR | Three BR | Four BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $812 | $907 | $1,104 | $1,509 | $1,897 |
