\u201cIt\u2019s a very narrow window the state gives us to add anti-discrimination efforts [to our strategic housing policies],\u201d said Councilman Edward Mungia (D4), who chairs the committee. \u201cIt\u2019s actually pretty rare that the state would give us that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, the committee also green-lit plans to offer $500 incentives<\/a> for landlords who sign a new lease with a tenant using either a veterans housing voucher or a traditional housing voucher, commonly referred to as Section 8.<\/p>\n That idea is intended to get more landlords participating in a program that\u2019s often stigmatized, and leaves voucher recipients competing over a relatively small pool of participating units.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes when folks don\u2019t know how to access a program, providing an incentive allows them to try and see what\u2019s possible,\u201d said Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1).<\/p>\n Both plans were approved unanimously by the committee and are now headed to the full council for a final vote.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is a package deal,\u201d Mungia said of the two proposals. \u201d \u2026 There\u2019s carrots and a stick.\u201d<\/p>\n Record-high vacancies, yet vouchers go unused<\/p>\n Many landlords and property managers at Tuesday\u2019s meeting stressed the added challenges that come with housing vouchers: Payments can be slow to start, plus working with the government entails added paperwork and inspections.<\/p>\n But council\u2019s ideas come at a time when many property owners are also eager to fill empty units.<\/p>\n \u201cThe occupancy rate for apartments in our city is at 81% \u2014 the lowest it\u2019s been in decades,\u201d said Melissa Cabello Havrda,\u00a0the chief government relations director at the\u00a0San Antonio Apartment Association.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Against that backdrop, city staff has already been working with the apartment association and other landlord advocates to see how they can help reduce the burdens involved with federal housing vouchers.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve worked to speed up the approval process, and even considered fronting money for the first few months of rent before the first voucher payment comes. <\/p>\n Still, said Neighborhood and Housing Services Assistant Director Veronica Gonzalez, \u201cabout 1,000 vouchers were unused in 2023 \u2014 meaning some families could not find a unit where the voucher could be used.<\/p>\n In a complex landscape, housing advocates say offering cash bonuses has been the easiest way to offset the landlords\u2019 up-front challenges.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s housing authority tried such a plan and said it was able to add 300 new landlords to their roster of those accepting vouchers \u2014 before federal funding constraints caused the program\u2019s budget to dry up.<\/p>\n Last year Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) filed a council consideration request<\/a> asking the city to take up where that program left off.<\/p>\n \u201cOpportunity Home had a fund, and they saw great success,\u201d Castillo said at a press conference outside City Hall on Tuesday morning. \u201cHowever, they haven\u2019t replenished that fund, so we have a responsibility [to help].\u201d<\/p>\n While council members have overwhelmingly agreed, the city is also facing its own budget deficit <\/a>that will test councilmembers\u2019 commitment to the idea later this fall.<\/p>\n As of Tuesday, city staff said it plans to pull the $500,000 for landlord incentives from another popular housing program, the Resident Relocation Assistance Program<\/a>, which helps cover moving costs for people facing financial hardships.<\/p>\n Some council members questioned that strategy at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, but vowed to fight for funding both programs in the upcoming budget discussions this fall.<\/p>\n Veterans seek housing options closer to VA care<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the plan to start fining landlords who reject veterans\u2019 housing vouchers has been a much more emotional topic.<\/p>\n Roughly two dozen people signed up to speak about the idea at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, including veterans who want the city doing everything it can to help those who\u2019ve served, and property managers who say the ordinance is a solution in search of a problem.<\/p>\n Like many progressive policy ideas moving through City Hall, the proposal started with an outside group that\u2019s pushing similar ideas in other cities. <\/p>\n The American GI Forum got Fort Worth to approve a veterans housing<\/a> ordinance in 2024, and though its efforts here once seemed to have hit a wall, it found an ally in Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones<\/a>, an Air Force veteran who was elected in June.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CityCouncil_PlanningCommunityDevelopmentCommittee_VeteranHousingVouchers_12_04.28.2026_AmberEsparza..jpeg\")
D4 Councilman Edward Mungia speaks during a Planning and Community Development Committee meeting on Tuesday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CityCouncil_PlanningCommunityDevelopmentCommittee_VeteranHousingVouchers_04_04.28.2026_AmberEsparza..jpeg\")
Martin Guttierrez Jr., vice president of government affairs with the San Antonio Board of Realtors, addresses council members during a Planning and Community Development Committee meeting on Tuesday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CityCouncil_PlanningCommunityDevelopmentCommittee_VeteranHousingVouchers_08_04.28.2026_AmberEsparza..jpeg\")
Citizens fill the council briefing room at City Hall to speak on veteran housing vouchers during a Planning and Community Development Committee meeting on Tuesday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n