Housing

Q&A: New Houston Housing Authority CEO Jamie Bryant seeking to fast-track affordability

About 1 in 6 Harris County residents believe the cost of housing is the biggest problem facing the area, according to the 2025 Kinder Houston Area Survey. Amid federal budget uncertainty, the new CEO of the Houston Housing Authority says local solutions and resources will matter even more.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, explained

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is the largest federal initiative in the U.S. aimed at creating affordable rental housing, resulting in millions of units nationally, including tens of thousands in Harris County.

Underfunded and imperfect, vouchers are an important piece of Houston’s housing affordability

The Houston Housing Authority (HHA) serves about 19,000 households with housing choice vouchers. The Harris County Housing Authority (whose service area excludes Houston, Pasadena and Baytown) supports another 4,500 households with vouchers. Collectively, that is nearly 10 times as many households as are served by public housing, making the voucher program an important — if imperfect — way of providing affordable housing.

Rising cost of utilities adds to housing affordability woes in Harris County

Nearly 70% of Harris County residents faced some level of difficulty affording their housing costs in 2024, according to a Kinder Institute survey. Among those who did, high utility bills were the most common contributing factor.

Naturally occurring affordable housing is crucial to Houston’s low-income residents. Preserving it requires action.

In Harris County, about 320,000 low-income households are housing cost burdened, paying more than 30% of their income toward rent. Given the low number of subsidized housing units and vouchers available in the county, this population is increasingly reliant upon “naturally occurring affordable housing,” or NOAH.