An ordinance that established protections for tenants years ago could get an update that’s expected to extend those safeguards, as well as enhance housing affordability.
In 2016, City Council adopted the Tenant Notification and Relocation Ordinance, intended to mitigate the effects of tenant displacement resulting from multifamily redevelopment. In particular, it sought to support low-income households, the elderly and people with disabilities facing displacement.
The Planning Commission now wants to bolster the ordinance. At its Tuesday meeting, the commission moved forward code amendments that would:
- Deter the displacement of residents earlier in the redevelopment process;
- Require compliance with the ordinance when the property owner conducts unpermitted work;
- Require notifications for tenants about alterations or repairs; and
- Adjust tenant relocation requirements to apply to any multifamily property with five or more residential units.
The ordinance has needed clarification before. In 2022, it was amended to ensure interior renovations were included in the notification requirements for demolition and renovation of buildings with five or more occupied units. Also last year, the city allocated $700,000 to help tenants seek out new housing, assist with moving and storage, support rent payments and more.
Commissioner Awais Azhar said he thinks the updates are “critical for ensuring that our relocation ordinance continues to benefit tenants.”
The update regarding unpermitted work was especially urgent, Azhar noted.
“One of the things that we’ve seen over the years is that sometimes, and actually a lot of the times, folks are actually displaced prior to the actual unpermitted work, as well,” he said.
Susan Watkins, who works in displacement prevention with the city, talked about patterns that came up as development projects have carried on in recent years, saying that some redevelopment happens without triggering the ordinance. That’s due to a couple of factors, Watkins said, whether it’s the type of building or that the vacancy happens before an application is submitted.
After the Planning Commission’s review, the ordinance amendments are set to be taken up by Council on Aug. 31.
For Azhar, this could be key to closing up yearslong loopholes in the ordinance.
“Really, this is our biggest protection, and with every passing day, there are folks who are being displaced – there are mass displacement events,” he said.
Photo by Steve Ryan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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This article First appeared in austinmonitor