rental market

Air conditioning feels like a must-have in brutally hot Texas. For renters, legally, it’s not — at least not everywhere in the state.

A tenant can’t withhold rent to force their landlord to fix a broken air conditioner or make a necessary repair, but they can take them to court to force a fix.

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition reports that low-income Texans face a housing market where truly affordable rent is largely out of reach.

The ordinance mostly maintains the rules previously established by the city. Council members voted unanimously to continue to allow short-term rentals only in mixed-use and commercial areas.

Fort Worth City Council chose to keep its ban on short-term rentals in residential areas, which has been a hot button issue for months. The council will also vote on a registration ordinance in January that requires legal short-term rentals in mixed-use and commercial areas to register with the city and pay hotel occupancy tax.

Fort Worth has a ban on short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, but that ban isn't widely enforced. Visitors to the city still have plenty of options when it comes to a weekend stay, especially in the popular Fairmount neighborhood, where some residents say they're losing their homes to Airbnbs.

Fifteen east Fort Worth neighborhoods are banding together to send a message to the city: 'If you’re going to legalize short-term rentals in residential areas, we want a seat at the table.'

Other new laws include transparency for long-term care facilities and trademark protections for restaurants.

In February, Texas launched a program to help people who had missed rent payments because of the pandemic. By the end of March, only 250 people had actually got help paying for rent out of 72,000 completed applications.

Developers are building thousands of single-family homes that won't require a mortgage to move in. Even people who could afford to buy are choosing to rent — they aren't ready for the long-term debt.

Almost 40% of homes in Texas are rented, and according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, finding an affordable one is a…