HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
Since 2023, Houston has only continued to face soaring eviction rates, surpassing even New York City. Further, studies have shown that a majority of renters in the city have had 30% or more of their entire income burdened by housing costs. It's time for housing reform.
As Mayor, Neeloy will implement real, lasting changes to make housing in Houston more affordable and fair. At the heart of his approach is a commitment to protecting renters with a Tenant Bill of Rights, laying out basic, enforceable protections against unjust evictions and predatory lease practices.
Neeloy believes rent shouldn't rise faster than people’s paychecks, which is why he supports targeted rent control to help keep families from being pushed out of the neighborhoods they've long called home. And for those looking to put down roots, he plans to expand existing homebuyer assistance programs that help working-class Houstonians with down payments and access to affordable loans. Because buying a home in this city shouldn’t be a luxury reserved for the wealthy.
RENT CONTROL
Neeloy will champion a targeted rent control strategy by working together with City Council to pass an ordinance capping annual rent increases for qualifying properties, focusing first on developments receiving public subsidies or tax incentives. Neeloy will also advocate for state-level reform to lift Texas’s current preemption on municipal rent control, building a coalition of city leaders across the state to push for local control. In the meantime, he will expand tenant protections, require landlords to provide advance notice of significant rent increases, and create a Rent Stabilization Task Force to monitor pricing trends and hold corporate landlords accountable for the obligations they owe to their renters.
TENANT BILL OF RIGHTS
Using his legal experience advocating for tenants, Neeloy will implement the Tenant Bill of Rights as a safeguard to protect renters from unjust evictions, unsafe living conditions, and predatory landlord practices. This legislation will guarantee tenants the right to legal counsel, transparency regarding fees, mandatory disclosure of all of their rights, and more. Neeloy will create a city-run Tenant Advocacy Office to provide legal assistance to tenants facing unjust persecution from landlords, educate renters on their rights, and mediate landlord disputes. The plan will also include expanded enforcement of existing housing codes and penalties to the landlords that do not abide by them—ensuring that renters across Houston, especially in vulnerable communities, are treated with fairness and dignity.
FREE ONLINE RESOURCES
What if AI was used to help people instead of producing slop? Most tenant problems begin and end with the lease. The terms buried in that document determine rent increases, repair responsibilities, late fees, and the rights both tenants and landlords have.
Neeloy will work with the city to make advanced lease-analysis tools available online for free to Houston tenants. Residents will be able to upload a lease and receive a plain-language explanation of key terms, potential red flags, and how the agreement affects their rights under Texas law. This tool will help renters before signing a lease by flagging unfair or unusual provisions so tenants can ask questions or negotiate. It will also help people already living under a lease understand what their agreement allows, what protections they have, and what limits exist if disputes arise.
When tenants can clearly see what they are agreeing to, they are better equipped to protect themselves, avoid predatory terms, and resolve problems before they even arise.
HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
As mayor of Houston, Neeloy will update Houston’s Homebuyer Assistance Program to expand access to affordable homeownership by increasing income limits and streamlining the process so that busy working-class people are not wasting their precious time filling out form after form for months. Neeloy will also launch a Homeownership Education Initiative accessible to all Houstonians to provide financial literacy training, credit counseling, and homebuyer workshops—ensuring that every Houstonian has the tools and support needed to build long-term stability through homeownership.
INCREASING AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY
Another way to make housing affordable? Increase the amount of affordable housing, of course. Neeloy will expand the city’s housing stock by putting local tools to work for working families. A Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) is a special district that lets neighborhoods keep the extra property tax dollars they generate, creating a “neighborhood piggy bank” that can only be reinvested back into that area. Today, too many TIRZs are concentrated in already wealthy parts of Houston, and too few of them prioritize housing. Neeloy will change that by increasing oversight of TIRZ expenditures and requiring applicable TIRZs to dedicate a set percentage of their budget to affordable, mixed-income housing via strict regulation and enforcement of the existing Fund 2409.
Further to TIRZ reform, he will also work with City Council to (i) launch a Downtown Conversion Program that provides tax abatements and expedited permitting for developers who transform underused office buildings into residential units (with clear affordability requirements attached) and (ii) push for the transfer of vacant lots into the possession of regulated land banks (e.g. the Houston Land Bank and the HLCT) where the land will be subject to the highest use of providing affordable housing. By aligning TIRZ funds with smart redevelopment incentives, Houston will unlock thousands of affordable homes while revitalizing its core neighborhoods. This is how we build a Houston that’s not just growing, but growing for the future.
