Real estate
Environment
BY SHAHERYAR KHAN
BY DANICA LLOYD
‘The rent eats rst’: Most Houston renters face cost burdens
Contaminated well water found near Jones Road Superfund use private wells that could expose them to contaminated groundwater. In 2008, half the
As rent prices in Harris County have outpaced median household income, the majority of renters are nding themselves burdened by housing costs, according to a July 25 report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. The specics As of 2021, a majority of renter households were spending over 30% of their household income on housing, which researchers said indicates they faced housing cost burdens. When factoring in household size and essential costs, more than 60% of renters experienced housing cost burdens. Additionally, Harris Central Appraisal District’s grading system that assesses the physical condi- tion of rental structures relative to age found that housing conditions were worrisome as of 2021. Nearly 1 in 5 rental structures in Harris County received a “below average” grade, per the report. Approximately 25% of single-family homes in Harris County were rentals in 2021. Among the
On Aug. 8, the Texas Health and Environment Alliance shared the results of private well water testing near the Jones Road Superfund site where ocials in the early 2000s discovered improperly dumped dry cleaning chemicals contaminated the soil, indoor air and groundwater. Contaminants were found in two of the 13 wells the THEA independently tested and in two of the 55 wells tested by The University of Texas Medical Branch, ocials said. How we got here The shopping center at 11600 Jones Road, Houston, was declared a Superfund site in 2003 after Bell Dry Cleaners operated there from 1988- 2002. Superfund sites are polluted sites the federal government has authority to clean up. A ve-year review from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in September 2022 concluded
Cost-burdened breakdown Researchers found the majority of Hispanic and Black renters in Harris County, as well as renter households with children, spend more than 30% of their household income on housing.
PERCENTAGE OF RENTER HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE COSTBURDENED By race/ethnicity By household type
Accessing clean water U.S. Environmental Protection Agency o cials continue to urge residents near the Superfund site to connect to the public water supply.
property owners in the aected area opted to plug their wells and connect to the public water supply. “We are willing to give you the [water] connections to protect you. ... We have a solution to protect you. Groundwater cleanup can take hundreds of years,” Raji Josiam, a remedial project manager for the EPA, said at the meeting. Some context Despite many attempts to convince residents to connect to the water line over the years, Josiam said only two or three have agreed to do so in the next round of connections this fall. The aected neighborhoods are not within a municipal utility district, so the White Oak Bend MUD serves those who opt for the water line. This MUD charges 1.5 times more for water to oset the tax revenue it does not receive from these residents, which Josiam said can be a hindrance.
Hispanic
Single-parent household
Two-parent household
Single-person household
74.7%
Black
66.2%
Asian
82.2%
72.9% 55.4%
38%
Shopping center Edgewood Estates
Evergreen Woods Water line service area
White
36.2%
SOURCE: KINDER INSTITUTE OF URBAN RESEARCHCOMMUNITY IMPACT
C Y P RESS N. HOUSTON RD.
1.1 million single-family rental homes, 10,385 were owned by a small group of multistate corporate investors, and 38,703 were owned by other corpo- rate entities, the report states. Diving in deeper Stating in the report that “the rent eats rst,” researchers said rental aordability is not only a factor of the monthly rent costs but also the living costs for the people in that household.
The data shows rent burdens impact households with children more signicantly. About 82% of single-parent households and 73% of two-parent households with children are cost-burdened. Increases in rent often result in reduced spending on essential needs, such as healthy food, medical care and child care. Additionally, in car-dependent cities such as Houston, transporta- tion costs can be comparable to housing expenses, researchers said.
1960
cleanup eorts were insucient because neighborhoods to the west of the site still
N
SOURCE: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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