About

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (“TDHCA”) was created on September 1, 1991.

• The 72nd State Legislature consolidated functions formerly administered by the Texas Department of Community Affairs and the Texas Housing Agency.
• The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Emergency Nutrition and Temporary Emergency Relief Program were transferred from the Texas Department of Human Services effective September 1, 1992.
• The Texas Manufactured Housing Division was transferred from the Department of Licensing and Regulation to the Department on September 1, 1995 and made a separate administrative entity within the Department effective September 1, 2001.

TDHCA Pandemic Response (2020-2023)

At the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, TDHCA served as a conduit for federal funding directed to help Texans financially impacted by the pandemic’s reach. TDHCA reprogrammed existing funds or received one-time/temporary federal dollars obtained through Congressional budgetary processes, such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Coronavirus Relief Bill Funds, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

TDHCA received or reallocated more than $4.6 billion to respond to the pandemic, and served nearly 6 million Texans with rental and utility assistance, housing stability, mortgage and home-related expenses, eviction diversion, homelessness prevention, and other direct or indirect services through community initiatives.

The following programs were created or used to respond to the pandemic’s profound economic effects on Texas and its residents: Texas Rent Relief Program, Texas Eviction Diversion Program, Texas Homeowners Assistance Fund, Texas Utility Help, Emergency Solutions Grants CARES, Community Development Block Grant, Housing Stability Services Program, HOME Investment Partnerships-American Rescue Plan Program, and the Emergency Housing Voucher Program.

• Texas Rent Relief*
  • $2.2 billion expended

  • 323,000 households served 

TDHCA’s Texas Rent Relief (TRR) was one of the first in the nation to begin administering emergency rent relief for the U.S. Treasury Department in 2021. By July 2021, TRR had outpaced all other states in distributing funding according to Treasury data and was receiving national attention for program administration (https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/04/white-house-texas-renter-rescue-509546). Applications were accepted through the online portal at www.texasrentrelief.com through March 2023. 

TDHCA also developed the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, the first statewide eviction diversion program in Texas, in collaboration with the Texas Office of Court Administration, the Supreme Court of Texas, and the Office of the Governor. As a subset of the Texas Rent Relief program, the Texas Eviction Diversion Program provided $243 million in rental and utility assistance, stopped evictions, and made eviction court records confidential for more than 25,000 renter households across Texas.

• Texas Homeowners Assistance Fund*
  • $634 million expended

  • 55,000 households served

TDHCA received $842 million to help eligible homeowners avoid mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, and to help prevent the displacement of homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21, 2020. Created by TDHCA and launched in March 2021, the Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund (TXHAF) assisted homeowners who had fallen behind on mortgages, utility payments, property taxes, property insurance, and/or homeowner/condo association fees. Applications were accepted through the online portal system at www.texashomeownerassistance.com through October 2023.

• Texas Utility Help*
  • $140 million expended

  • 62,000 households served

TDHCA received multiple funding allocations totaling $385.6 million for the Low Income Household Energy Assistance Program (Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program). TDHCA also received funding, $92.4 million, to assist low-income households with water/wastewater payments, through the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). In its efforts to assist Texas residents quickly, the Department utilized its 36 subrecipient partners as well as launching Texas Utility Help in 2022 to expend funds. Texas Utility Help served as an online application portal to help renters and homeowners pay past due utility and/or water or wastewater bills.

Applications were accepted through the online portal system (www.TexasUtilityHelp.com) through September 2023.

• Emergency Solutions Grants CARES (ESG CARES)
  • $97.5 million expended

  • 94,546 persons served

TDHCA received multiple allocation rounds totaling $103.6 million for the ESG CARES program. TDHCA worked with existing ESG subrecipient partners and Continuums of Care awardees to assist residents at the local level. Funding provided for homelessness prevention, rapid rehousing efforts, street outreach, and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).

• Community Development Block Grants – CARES*
  • $95 million expended

  • 3.5 million people served 

Funding for the Community Development Block Grant CARES Act included awards for TDHCA to assist rural and small metro communities to create, expand or enhance public facilities that provide medical care, social services, and/or emergency housing to prevent the transmission of future pandemics. Funding, $141.8 million in total, supported multiple programs, including the Texas Emergency Rental Assistance Program (TERAP; the precursor to Texas Rent Relief), the Texas Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (TEMAP), legal services for persons with disabilities, food distribution, and the Community Resiliency Program (CRP). 

• Housing Stability Services*
  • $132.8 million expended

  • 88,000 households served

Approximately $166 million was allocated through the Emergency Rental Assistance funds.

The Housing Stability Services Program provided households at or below 80% Area Median Income with a variety of services including legal services, outreach services, shelter services, community services, and services offered at permanent supportive housing properties in order to maintain or obtain stable housing. TDHCA partnered with local providers and legal service provides to assist residents and households.

• HOME Investment Partnerships-American Rescue Plan Program (HOME-ARP)*

Funding provided through an allocation of $132.9 million of HOME Funds authorized by ARPA. The HOME-ARP funds pay for tenant-based rental assistance, production or preservation of affordable housing including permanent supportive housing, supportive services, homeless prevention services, purchase/development of non-congregate shelter, and operating costs for eligible nonprofits.

In 2023, TDHCA dedicated HOME-ARP dollars to develop rental housing or for operating costs and capacity building for eligible nonprofit organizations working to combat and prevent homelessness. 

• Emergency Housing Vouchers
  • $5.5 million expended

  • 547 households served

TDHCA was issued a limited number of vouchers, 798 total, and these vouchers were issued only to those referred to TDHCA by partnering Continuums of Care (CoCs). Referrals have been received for all available vouchers.

The mission of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is to administer its assigned programs efficiently, transparently, and lawfully and to invest its resources strategically and develop high quality affordable housing which allows Texas communities to thrive.

The Department accomplishes this mission by acting as a conduit for federal grant funds for housing and community services. However, because several major housing programs require the participation of private investors and private lenders, TDHCA also operates as the state's housing finance agency.

Ensuring program compliance with the many state and federal laws that govern housing programs is another important part of the Department's mission. This ensures the health and safety of TDHCA's housing portfolio and guarantees state and federal resources are expended in an efficient and effective manner.

TDHCA also serves as a financial and administrative resource that helps provide essential services and affordable housing opportunities to Texans who qualify for this assistance based on their income level. Additionally, the Department is a resource for educational materials and technical assistance for housing, housing related, and community services matters.

TDHCA Organizational Chart (PDF)

Number of Employees

TDHCA is authorized 311 full time equivalent employees. TDHCA currently employs 294 employees.

Average Compensation

The average compensation rate for non-executive TDHCA employee is $65,724

Methodology and Market Analysis

Methodology

TDHCA complies with the State’s Position Classification Plan as defined in the General Appropriations Act. The Position Classification Plan outlines the compensation structure for state agencies and is maintained by the State Classification Office in the State Auditor’s Office (SAO). Classification titles and associated salary groups are established in the General Appropriations Act, Article IX. A list of the state classification titles and state job descriptions can be found on the State Auditor’s website at www.hr.sao.texas.gov. Each position in the department is designated a classification title based on the duties and responsibilities of the position.

Compensation of Executive Staff

TDHCA's executive director's compensation is established through the legislative process and can be found in Article VII of the General Appropriations Act.  In accordance with Sections 659.020-659.021, Texas Government Code, TDHCA's executive director and executive staff are not eligible for a salary supplement. The chart below reflects the relevant classification for TDHCA, inclusive of the Manufactured Housing Division.

Average Compensation and Percent Increase by Year and Title

Nicole Krueger, Director of Human Resources provided the agency's methodology and market analysis for executive staff compensation. The data represented provides executive staff average compensation and market average compensation data. Resources from the State Auditor's Office were used for reporting market average compensation data as noted.

1. A Report on Executive Compensation at State Agencies, Report No-18-705

2. SAO E-Class System

Legislative Appropriation Increases

The percentage increase in legislative appropriations to the agency each fiscal year of the five preceding fiscal years:

TDHCA energy plan (comptroller.texas.gov)