Summary of Housing Assistance in San Marcos, TX

San Marcos Housing Authority (SMHA)*

• Public Housing – Sites: Allen Woods Homes (125 duplex units), CM Allen Homes (100 duplex units), Porter Homes (8 apartment units), Scattered Site (26 individual homes). Apply at Allen Woods Homes, 1201 Thorpe Lane. Preference: Hays County residents. Average wait time: 6 months to 4 years, depending upon bedroom size. 512-353-5059.
• Chapultepec Family Self-Sufficiency Program – Special project (30 apartments). Program participation required. Must be motivated to succeed. Apply at 701 South LBJ Drive. Preference: Hays County residents. Average wait time: 3 months to 1 year, depending upon bedroom size. 512-396-3364.
• Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program – Rental assistance for persons living in privately-owned housing (228 voucher-holders). Apply at Allen Woods Homes, 1201 Thorpe Lane. Preferences: Applicants who live or work in San Marcos (or who have accepted a job in San Marcos but have not yet relocated) and public housing residents in San Marcos who have been displaced by natural disaster in the last 6 months. Average wait time: 2 – 3 years. 512-353-5061. (The list is closed as of December 30, 2016.)
• Springtown Villa – Project-based Section 8 rental assistance for 60 apartments. Apply at 503 Springtown Way. Must be elderly or disabled. Average wait time: 18 months. 512-396-3363.

*All SMHA housing is filled from the waiting list for each program. There is no emergency housing. Rent is based on income. The wait can be less than or more than the averages listed above.

Riverview Apartments

Project-based Section 8 rental assistance (rent based on income for 40 apartments) and “market rate” units (reduced rent for 12 apartments). Apply at 601 River Road. There are no preferences. Average wait time: 3 months to 3 years, depending upon bedroom size. 512-353-1593.

Emergency Housing

• Southside Community Center – Homeless Shelter/New Life Program (518 South Guadalupe Street) – Homeless persons are welcome to eat, shower, and wash clothes during the day. Overnight shelter is only for approved applicants who will have 30 days to show they are making progress toward goals before being granted a 30-day extension. Maximum stay: 120 days. Apply at 518 South Guadalupe Street. 512-392-6694..
• Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center/McCoy Family Shelter – Temporary shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Clients also receive case management services, legal advocacy, and individual & group counseling. Children receive counseling, support groups, and children’s activities. Residents of Hays or Caldwell Counties get priority. 512-396-4357 or 800-700-4292.

Rent & Utility Assistance

• Community Action of Central Texas – Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program. 512-878-2542 ext 33.
• Salvation Army – Temporary disaster assistance only. No deposits or fees paid. 512-754-8541.
• St. Vincent de Paul – Rent & utility assistance. Focus on families with small children. 512-353-7394.
• Southside Community Center/Society of St. Stephens – Rent & utility assistance. 512-392-6694.

Salvation Army Homeless Shelters in Austin

• Downtown Shelter & Social Service Center – Open to all. 501 East 8th Street, 512-476-1111.
• Austin Shelter for Women & Children – 4523 Tannehill Lane, 512-933-0600.
   
  

  Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Properties in San Marcos

  The Federal Government gives tax credits to apartment complexes that provide discounted housing for low-income families. You must contact properties directly to get information regarding qualifications and application procedures.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the most important resource for creating affordable housing in the United States today. The LIHTC database, created by HUD and available to the public since 1997, contains information on 43,092 projects and 2.78 million housing units placed in service between 1987 and 2014. Created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the LIHTC program gives State and local LIHTC-allocating agencies the equivalent of nearly $8 billion in annual budget authority to issue tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households. Although some data about the program have been made available by various sources, HUD’s database is the only complete national source of information on the size, unit mix, and location of individual projects. With the continued support of the national LIHTC database, HUD hopes to enable researchers to learn more about the effects of the tax credit program. The database includes project address, number of units and low-income units, number of bedrooms, year the credit was allocated, year the project was placed in service, whether the project was new construction or rehab, type of credit provided, and other sources of project financing. The database has been geocoded, enabling researchers to look at the geographical distribution and neighborhood characteristics of tax credit projects. It may also help show how incentives to locate projects in low-income areas and other underserved markets are working. (Source:https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/lihtc.html)

Download a PDF copy here: Housing Assistance – San Marcos, Texas