North Texas HOA bans use of housing vouchers

• Tasha Tsiaperas

A homeowners association in a small Denton County town passed a rule to ban renters with housing vouchers, effectively targeting Black residents in the predominantly white neighborhood.

Why it matters: The neighborhood makes up most of Providence Village, so when the leases expire, the town will be almost entirely off limits to renters with housing vouchers.

• Housing advocacy groups have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate  whether the HOA's ban violates the federal Fair Housing Act .

Catch up fast: In June, the Providence Homeowners Association passed the rule, which also included a provision that would fine landlords $300 a week for housing Section 8 tenants.

• The association later walked back the implementation of fines, allowing tenants to stay through the end of their leases, per the Denton Record-Chronicle.

Of note: Texas landlords can reject a renter with a housing voucher but cannot deny a person based on their race, religion, sex or disability.

• The Providence HOA is one of three in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that ban voucher holders, per The Texas Tribune.

By the numbers: Providence Village has about 7,800 residents, 87% of whom are white, according to Census data.

• Women head all but five of the 157 households using vouchers in Providence Village and 93% of the families are Black, per a Texas Tribune analysis.
• Only 12% of 1,901 multifamily rental properties in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Rockwall counties accept housing choice vouchers, according to an analysis by the Inclusive Communities Project.
• Only 4% of rental properties in majority white ZIP codes accept the vouchers.

What they're saying: "For years we've had to deal with the homeowners saying 'not in my neighborhood,' but now we have a move afoot that says 'not even in our city.' That's concerning," Ann Lott, executive director of the Inclusive Communities Project, told the Tribune.

What we're watching: Whether this paves the way for other HOAs to follow suit.