Austin Rent Assistance Not Offered To ETJ Residents

AUSTIN, TX — A $13 million city fund created to provide rent assistance for those financially impacted by the coronavirus does not include residents living in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, Patch has learned.

The city's Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin last week launched the Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) Assistance Program, a $17.75 million program providing $12.9 million in direct rent support for income-eligible Austin renters hit hard by the pandemic. The RENT program will also offer related support for tenant stabilization, eviction prevention and direct community outreach, officials added.

In a reply to an email from Patch, Jeff Patterson of the city's Neighborhood Housing and Community Development, a unit of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, said the benefit does not cover those in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). According to a municipal portal, Austin's ETJ is the unincorporated land within five miles of Austin's full purpose city limit not within the city limits or ETJ of another city. The city's ETJ currently extends into 4 counties including Williamson, Travis, Hays and Bastrop.

Related story: Austin Provides $13M For Renters Impacted By Coronavirus

"Only renters living within the city's full purpose jurisdiction (not ETJ) are eligible for rental assistance," Patterson wrote.

According to theCity of Austin demographer, there were some 270,000 people living in the Austin ETJ as of July 1. As the capital city has expanded — and gotten more expensive given ever-soaring property values — the ETJ population has grown exponentially over the years as residents move to less-expensive environs. The municipal demographer provided past population numbers for the ETJ region:

• April 1, 2000: 128,925.
• April 1, 2010: 200,195.
• July 1, 2020: 268,403.

It's unclear if there are any resources to which residents living in the Austin ETJ can avail themselves. For those who are eligible for rental assistance in Austin, the RENT Application Portal opened last Wednesday will remain open through January 2021, or until funds are expended, according to a city advisory. Eligible renters may submit their application for random selection. If selected and the application qualifies, a payment will be issued directly to the landlord in the full amount of the contracted rent. All applications, regardless of when they are submitted after the initial opening of the application period, will be given an equal chance for random selection.

From time to time, city officials noted, two cities may agree to adjust their ETJ boundaries to achieve more logical boundaries. A city council making a request for an ETJ adjustment should direct it to the mayor with copies to the city manager and appropriate Planning and Zoning Department staff. All adjustments are evaluated according to the city’s ETJ Policy in order to ensure that they will not negatively impact Austin’s interests, officials noted on the municipal website.