"For low-income tenants, HOA restrictions drive racial housing segregation"

INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY

Denton Record-Chronicle
07/05/2022

I broke this after first looking into Providence Village HOA’s ban on short-term rental properties in late May 2022. While I was reporting on that story, I noticed that a restriction on Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher renters was also included in the proposed leasing rule changes. I quickly realized this was a largely unprecedented move and one that potentially violated federal housing law — the majority of voucher renters in the neighborhood were Black, and the Fair Housing Act forbids discrimination based on race. The story was picked up by other regional news outlets including the Dallas Morning News, later drawing attention from state outlets including the Texas Tribune. Following our reporting the Denton Housing Authority reached out to voucher holders and urged them to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As was reported in the series, several advocacy groups also petitioned the Department of Justice to investigate the ban following our initial report. The HOA relaxed the rule changes several times amid public scrutiny, eventually halting them altogether when HUD launched an investigation in August. Our records requests have been denied pending the ongoing inquiry and lawsuits, but we expect the result of the investigation to set precedent for other HOAs attempting similar bans across the country. Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, said he began following the developments based on our reporting and filed a bill in the 2023 legislative session that would amend Section 202 of the Texas Property Code to prevent HOAs from enforcing leasing rules that limit what forms of payment landlords can accept, including vouchers. We will continue to follow these developments as they have significant implications for renters, property owners and homeowners’ associations.  

Amber Gaudet
Denton Record-Chronicle

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Submitted by Claire Williams.