{"id":76,"date":"2026-05-08T09:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T09:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=76"},"modified":"2026-05-08T09:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T09:31:11","slug":"san-antonio-follows-fort-worth-in-banning-landlords-from-rejecting-veterans-with-housing-vouchers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=76","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio follows Fort Worth in banning landlords from rejecting veterans with housing vouchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

San Antonio is now the second Texas city to approve an ordinance banning landlords from turning away veterans who pay their rent with a federal housing voucher.<\/p>\n

Read more San Antonio leaders approve Ready to Work $42.8M budget through 2027<\/a><\/p>\n

In most cases, Texas law protects landlords\u2019 ability to choose whether they want to rent to people paying with a voucher \u2014 a move that requires them to undergo an inspection process and can often result in delayed first payments.<\/p>\n

But the law allows cities to make narrow exceptions when it comes to city-funded properties, as well as for veterans seeking to use either a\u00a0VA Supportive Housing (VASH)\u00a0or Housing Choice Voucher (known as Section 8) within city limits.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the City Council unanimously approved a plan to pursue the latter, who own five or more properties to accept such applicants \u2014 even if that landlord wasn\u2019t previously in the vouchers pool \u2014 or face escalating punishments if they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The vote came after an emotional, hours-long discussion in which many veterans urged the council to pursue a solution they said places only a minimal burden on property owners, when compared to what veterans give up in service to their country. <\/p>\n

Many said they had first-hand experience of struggling to find housing, or had a friend or relative who did. <\/p>\n

Some said they had even previously lived on the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are not enough landlords who accept vouchers of any type. Opportunity Home oversees over 13,000 vouchers, and yet, there are only a little over 2,000 landlords that accept them \u2014 many who are known slum lords,\u201d said a formerly homeless veteran who identified herself as Molly, but did not give her last name, during public comment. \u201cI know the state doesn\u2019t allow a source of income discrimination for all vouchers, but it does for veterans. So with love, true love, why wouldn\u2019t we honorably desire to protect all veterans?\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, numerous property managers and landlords in attendance sought to explain a business model they said actually relies on small margins \u2014 and could cost them their properties if late payments put them behind on their mortgage.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the problems with the program is delay of payment, which takes 30 to 60 days after inspection is completed,\u201d said Karen Fisher, a former Air Force nurse who went on to own and manage single-family rental homes. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I hold the slot for a voucher, I am now in default of my mortgage and put in financial hardship,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cMandating this ordinance for small business owners like me is not feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council voted 11-0 in favor of the ordinance, after voting down Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones\u2019 attempt to broaden it out to all landlords and assess the fine more quickly.<\/p>\n

Fort Worth approved a similar ordinance in 2024, and a previous San Antonio City Council\u00a0considered doing the same\u00a0in 2024.<\/p>\n

In both cases, the American GI Forum was a driving force behind the policies, in hopes of demonstrating success at the city level will help pave the way for a statewide policy change later down the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cA city solution \u2026 we can have it right now \u2026 versus going through legislation where it takes almost 100 days going through the process, and then sometimes, it falls back,\u201d said Pete Bernal, commander of the American GI Forum of Bexar County. \u201cThat\u2019s the whole reason why we started here, and then we can move it up to the state level and the national level.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ability to relocate<\/h4>\n

In a city that is home to more than 90,000 veterans, San Antonio city leaders estimate roughly 2,000 of them receive either a\u00a0VASH or Housing Choice Voucher \u2014 nearly all are of whom are currently placed in housing.<\/p>\n

Read more Mayor vs. council standoff boils over during Project Marvel consultant contract debate<\/a><\/p>\n

But proponents of the new ordinance say they\u2019ll now be able to more easily find housing close to VA clinics, which are , or relocate from the limited housing options currently available to voucher holders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the stats don\u2019t show is where veterans would prefer to live if given the option,\u201d said Jones, an Air Force veteran who revived the ordinance after it stalled under a previous council. \u201cThey don\u2019t show the number of veterans that are many, many miles away from the VA clinic that they would prefer to live closer to, if there was an opportunity to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council was largely sympathetic to that idea, but not ready to make overnight voucher recipients out of all of San Antonio\u2019s smaller landlords.<\/p>\n

The original proposal Jones submitted would have applied to all rental units and created a $500 fine if they were found out of compliance.<\/p>\n

Last week the council\u2019s Planning and Community Development Committee amended it to apply only to landlords with more than four properties, and offered several lesser penalties before a fine is issued.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Jones argued passionately to undo those changes from the dais, siding with the veterans who suggested council was going overboard in accommodating people wealthy enough to own multiple properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur penalties for people who have dogs off a leash are actually more strict than that,\u201d the mayor said of the multiple warnings.<\/p>\n

But the majority of the council agreed that they needed to roll this new policy out more gently \u2014 to the jeers and frustration of some veterans in the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can be as upset as you want,\u201d Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) said to those in the chamber before joining the council majority in rejecting Jones\u2019 revisions. \u201cThis is a state-level [issue]. \u2026 So I will not be supporting the amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it stands, city staff doesn\u2019t have a good way to track which of the roughly 357,000 total rental units in San Antonio are owned by someone who would be subject to the new rule.<\/p>\n

Instead, Neighborhood and Housing Services Department Director Veronica Garcia said they\u2019ll look into complaints made by veterans who\u2019ve been rejected, and then try to determine whether that person owns five or more properties. <\/p>\n

Some housing advocates said that means it will still be hard for veterans to rent single-family homes if the policy isn\u2019t applied to all rental properties, and they don\u2019t know how many properties the person owns before trying to rent from them.<\/p>\n

But the meeting ended with an exhausted council celebrating the move as a step in the right direction for a city that wants to be known as Military City USA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis compromise actually brings 257,000 units \u2014 at the minimum \u2014 online,\u201d said Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who proposed the amendment when it was in committee. \u201cThat\u2019s more than half of the available rentals, and it includes all of the additional [single-family homes] that are owned by a business that has multiple single-family rentals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Mayor vs. council standoff boils over during Project Marvel consultant contract debate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a city with 90,000 veterans, the roughly 2,000 who pay rent with a voucher will now have a broader pool of rental options to choose from.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSan Antonio follows Fort Worth in banning landlords from rejecting veterans with housing vouchers - San Antonio moving report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=76\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Antonio follows Fort Worth in banning landlords from rejecting veterans with housing vouchers - 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