Testimony before the Texas Senate Committee on Local Government about Improving Housing Affordability

Chairman Bettencourt and members of the committee:

My name is Kathy Green, and I am the Director of State and Federal Strategy for AARP Texas. AARP Texas represents almost 2.5 million members across the state, and we advocate for empowering people to choose how they live as they age.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the committee’s charge on housing affordability.

Through our policy and advocacy work, AARP Texas fights for older Texans to have stability and a sense of security in a place they call home. Additionally, we fight for housing choices that allow older Texans to remain in their homes or find a safe and affordable home in their community.

AARP Texas, in recent polling, found that 89% of Texas residents 45+ prioritize staying in their own home as they get older. However, many older Texans reaching retirement age worry about this being a reality. Being on a fixed income and concerns about having enough money saved to live out that retirement, comfortably challenge this notion.

While the population of Texas is growing overall, it is no secret that our older population in Texas is the fastest age group. The 65+ population grew in Texas by 42% between 2012 and 2022.

In our research, we have found several factors impacting housing affordability. These include:

• Land use regulations that impact the type of housing that can be built; 
  
• Similarly, the amount of land zoned to allow rental housing and housing at higher densities; 
  
• Increases in construction and development costs; 
  
• Lack of financing and capital available for homeowners and builders looking to invest in workforce, and/or affordable and low-income housing; 
  
• Lack of government funds earmarked for housing; 
  
• The rise of institutional investors; 
  
• Soft costs, such as transfer taxes and development impact fees; 
  
• Increasing property taxes 

All these factors have ways to address them, some clearly more complex than others. I would like to suggest a few possible solutions:

• Increasing public and nonprofit investments in subsidized housing for low-income households (typically those earning no more than 30%, 60%, 80% and in very expensive markets, 120% of Median Area Household Income). Mechanisms that can be used to drive investments in affordable housing include housing trust funds, low-income housing tax credits, and direct housing subsidies paid to eligible households; 
  
• Reforming state and local zoning and building codes to incentivize affordable housing construction; 
  
• Strengthening community land trusts, which can be used to discourage land speculation and protect the long-term affordability of units; 
  
• Using inclusionary zoning that incentivizes or requires builders and developers to include some dedicated portion of affordable units when multifamily housing is built; 
  
• Passing zoning legislation to allow for new housing options, such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), manufactured housing, and tiny homes, to be constructed; 
  
• Building more housing in designs and locations that work for older adults and people with disabilities; 
  
• Increasing funding for housing to specifically serve the needs of low-income older adults; 
  
• Implementing property tax relief programs targeted to low- and middle-income homeowners and renters. 

In closing, housing affordability is a challenging issue that affects residents across the state, both middle and lower income. AARP Texas looks forward to continuing to work with the committee and other stakeholders to address these issues in meaningful and sustainable ways.