Dallas’ $200 Million (Housing) Question
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Next year, the city will ask voters to approve a $1 billion bond. It wants to use a chunk of that money to help stave off a housing crisis. But how much?
Dallas City Hall is finally poised to use bond dollars to pay for housing. The city has never seriously used the bond program to boost the supply of apartments and homes, a technique that has grown common in cities such as Austin and San Antonio.
The new attention comes as research shows a dire situation growing worse. The nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab recently identified a gulf in supply of 33,660 rental units for Dallasites who make 50 percent of the area’s median income. That’s $31,150 for a single person, $35,600 for two, and $40,500 for three.
Forty percent of the labor pool here works lower-paying retail, service, and support jobs, which have median wages of under $40,500. If we do nothing, the shortage will nearly triple to 83,500 units by 2030. The city of Dallas now admits that these earners have to work multiple jobs just to afford a one-bedroom apartment.
The Dallas Housing Coalition wants to change the equation. The group of 90 organizations—businesses, chambers of commerce, nonprofits, churches—are calling for the city to use as much as one-fifth of the entire bond package on housing. That would be $200 million. The city is proposing a housing ask of $125 million, but that figure could drop to as low as $80 million.
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2024 Evictions in Dallas County: Understanding Filings, Outcomes, and
CPAL examines eviction cases in Dallas County in 2024, including record-high filings, varying courtroom outcomes, citation service methods, and the households ultimately
- In 2024, landlords filed 50,117 evictions in Dallas County – 200 per business day — the highest level in 25 years of available data.
- Across Dallas County in 2024, 52% of eviction cases favored the landlord, and 48% favored the tenant. However, case outcomes, especially in contested cases, varied by Justice of the Peace court.
- Ultimately, 17% of eviction cases ended with the execution of a writ of possession, meaning the tenants and their belongings were physically removed from the rental unit.
SMU Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center partnership
CPAL and the Deason Center are working to identify leverage points to reduce pretrial detention in Dallas County.
- Because pretrial detention can jeopardize a person’s employment, family stability, housing, and health, charging delays are a major issue for children and families.
- After an arrest, a prosecutor decides whether to file formal charges against an individual. In Texas, prosecutors can take up to 6 months to make that decision, and an arrested person can be held in jail for half of that time.
When parents go to jail, children are the hidden victims
Dallas County has more children with parents behind bars than any of its peers across Texas.
- As many as 100,000 children a year in Dallas have parents behind bars. These children have a much higher risk of aggression and antisocial behavior, suspension and expulsion, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicide, and incarceration.
- With people of color representing 8 out of 10 of the incarcerated, Black and Latino children are disproportionately affected. They are 7.5 times and 2.3 times more likely than white children, respectively, to have had an incarcerated parent.