§ 16.4. TENANT RELOCATION ASSISTANCE

(A)

The rules in this section specify the types of assistance that may be available under the Tenant Relocation Assistance Program. Funds may be available from the City of Austin Tenant Relocation Fund for tenant displacement as described in City Code § 25-1-716 and, for a project that requires a rezoning or other discretionary land use approval (as described in City Code § 25-1-715), the Developer Fund for Tenant Relocation Assistance.

(B)

Depending on available funding, the following types of assistance may be available to eligible tenants who are being displaced:

(1)

Housing location services to assist tenants in finding replacement housing or a replacement lot for a mobile home that meets their needs;

(2)

Financial assistance for reasonable relocation and moving expenses within 50 miles of the multifamily or mobile home park site, including the following:

(a)

Application fees for replacement housing;

(b)

Application deposits for replacement housing;

(c)

Security deposit at replacement housing;

(d)

First month's rent at replacement housing;

(e)

Rental of moving truck and movers;

(f)

Reimbursement for moving materials such as boxes, moving pads;

(g)

Outstanding utility debt or rental debt, but only through funds available from the City of Austin Tenant Relocation Assistance Fund;

(h)

Utility connection or disconnection fees or deposits, where these cannot be waived; and

(i)

Costs specific to moving mobile homes, including:

(i)

Relocation of a mobile home within a radius of 50 miles of the mobile home site,

(ii)

Storage of items while the home is being transported,

(iii)

Mobile home park fees, and

(iv)

Site preparation (including preparing a pad, utility connections, skirting).

(3)

Financial assistance may be provided through a third party payer contracted with the City of Austin for the purpose of providing relocation assistance.

(C)

Tenant eligibility for financial assistance will be determined in accordance with City Code § 25-1-714. To be eligible for financial assistance, a tenant household must:

(1)

Have a household income at or below:

(a)

70 percent of the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area median family income, as determined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, if the household resides in a multifamily unit, or

(b)

80 percent of the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area median family income, as determined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, if the household residents in a mobile home or manufactured home unit; and,

(2)

Maintain primary residence at the property tenant notification under City Code § 25-1-712 on the date that the application was filed with the City of Austin.

(3)

For mobile home tenants, the following eligibility criteria also apply:

(i)

The tenant household must own the mobile home and have a tenancy of a lot in a mobile home park, or

(ii)

The tenant household must be in lease-purchase, rent-to-own, seller financed, or a similar type of agreement for the mobile home, have been making payments in accordance with this agreement for a year prior to the notice of park closure, and are able to work with the owner of the mobile home in which they live to relocate the mobile home.

Source: Rule No. R161-17.13 , 5-22-17.