• Reports

An Underutilized Housing Affordability Tool: Homestead Exemptions

Housing affordability impacts financial stability, wealth-building opportunities, and long-term economic mobility for families. Homeowners can reduce their property tax bill by claiming exemptions — i.e., tax breaks — such as the homestead exemption.

The homestead exemption is a valuable but underutilized benefit for Dallas County homeowners. In particular, homeowners in low-income census tracts, majority Black, and majority Hispanic census tracts do not claim the homestead exemption at the same rates as homeowners in high-income census tracts and majority White census tracts.

About 57,000 properties within Dallas County are potentially eligible for the homestead exemption but have not yet claimed it, for an estimated total benefit of ~$310M. Of those, ~40,000 properties are in low-income and very low-income census tracts, for an estimated total benefit of ~$5,000 per household. For context, $5,000 is equivalent to what a four-person household in Dallas County would spend in 5.2 months on food or in 3.5 months on health care.

As a companion to the report, we also developed an interactive tool, the Dallas Homestead Exemption Map, to visualize utilization of the homestead exemption within Dallas County by neighborhood, census tract, and ZIP code.

We hope the report and web map will support efforts to increase access to the homestead exemption across Dallas County.

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  • 2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment

    The 2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment establishes a shared fact base on rental affordability, supply, and opportunity in the City of Dallas.

    • Dallas faces a 46,000-unit shortage of rental homes affordable to very low-income households earning ≤50% of Area Median Income (AMI). Since CPAL first published this report in 2023, the gap has grown by more than 12,000 units.
    • Between 2021 and 2023, the number of rental units priced below $1,000 per month was cut in half — a loss of over 50,000 units. Today, 90% of affordable units for low-income renters are unsubsidized and vulnerable to market pressures.
    • Half of all renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, including 75% of single parents with children and 65% of senior renters. Extremely low-income renters spend, on average, 78% of their income on housing, leaving little room for other necessities.
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  • 2024 Rental Housing Needs Assessment

    2024 Update of CPAL’s Rental Housing Needs Assessment analyzes the growing gap of rental housing supply and demand for low-income families.

    • As of 2022, Dallas had a 39,900 unit gap in affordable rental housing. The shortage of affordable housing units is projected to grow to 76,100 units by 2035, driven by an anticipated loss of 54,000 unrestricted affordable housing units.
    • Despite improvement over time in educational attainment and wages, 49% of all renters in the City of Dallas are housing cost burdened, and some renters are disproportionately affected, including Black renters, senior renters, and single parents with children.
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  • Housing Remediation as an Effective Intervention for Pediatric Asthma

    This issue-brief describes the impacts of asthma in Dallas and how home repair can better asthma outcomes, increase economic mobility, and improve the quality of life for children across Dallas.

    • Asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism and is costly. In 2023, Dallas County children experienced 1,036 asthma inpatient hospital visits. The combined costs of these visits were ~$10.3M, for an average cost of $9,966 per visit. 
    • The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative estimates that 40% of all asthma episodes are caused by preventable home-based asthma allergens, like dust, pests, and mold.
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