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Austin, Texas

Second chance apartments in Austin: renting with a record

Neither Texas nor Austin limits what criminal history a private landlord may consider, so each landlord sets its own criteria. The Housing Authority of the City of Austin says it aims to reduce barriers for people with records, but its voucher waitlist is closed and its Pathways properties use their own offense table. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and 2-1-1 are good places to start.

Checked October 29, 2026. General information, not legal advice. We don't list or recommend landlords; these are the rules and the official help in Austin.

On this page
  1. Texas law
  2. Austin rules
  3. Public housing and vouchers in Austin
  4. Where to get help in Austin
  5. Avoiding rental scams in Texas
  6. Where to go next

Texas law

Texas (statewide)

Texas has no state law that limits what criminal history a private landlord may consider. The Texas Fair Housing Act (Property Code chapter 301) bars refusing to rent because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin, and a criminal record is not on that list.1

Section 301.021(c) adds that the section does not prohibit discrimination against a person because of a conviction, under federal law or any state's law, for the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance. Other sections of the chapter cover disability. Having a record is not a protected class under federal fair housing law either, so the national guide's points still apply. Because state law leaves these choices to each landlord, ask for the written criteria before you pay a fee.

Screening criteria and fees

A Texas landlord must make a printed notice of its tenant selection criteria available when it gives you a rental application. The notice must give the grounds on which an application may be denied, such as criminal history, rental history, current income or credit history, and the applicant signs an acknowledgment that the notice was made available.2

If a landlord rejects you without having made that notice available, it must return your application fee and any application deposit (Property Code sec. 92.3515(e)). You are treated as rejected if the landlord has not accepted you within 7 days after you submit a completed application (sec. 92.352(a)). A landlord that in bad faith fails to refund a fee or deposit it owes can be liable for $100, three times the amount kept and your attorney's fees (sec. 92.354). We found no dollar cap on application fees in sections 92.351 to 92.355.

Renting to someone with a record

Texas law says a landlord cannot be sued solely for renting to a tenant who has been convicted of, arrested for or placed on deferred adjudication for an offense. A negligence claim is still possible if the tenant was convicted of an offense listed in Code of Criminal Procedure article 42A.054 or has a reportable conviction or adjudication under chapter 62, and the landlord knew or should have known.2

Section 92.025 took effect January 1, 2016 and does not create or expand any cause of action. It speaks to a landlord's risk of being sued, not to whether a landlord must rent to you, so a landlord may still decline an application.

Sealed and expunged records

If a Texas court issues an order of nondisclosure for your record, the court may not disclose the sealed court-record information to the public. Government Code secs. 411.076 and 411.0765 allow disclosure only to criminal justice agencies, the person named in the order, a set list of licensing, education, health, financial and other agencies, and where federal law requires it; private landlords are not on that list. A private company that sells criminal history information must destroy it and may not pass it on once it has notice of an expunction or nondisclosure order, and it can owe damages if it does (sec. 411.0851).3

A person with a nondisclosure order does not have to state the proceeding on an application for employment, information or licensing (Government Code sec. 411.0755). Not everyone qualifies: sec. 411.074 excludes some people from getting an order for certain offenses, including registrable sex offenses, certain violent offenses and family violence. If a tenant screening report still shows a sealed or expunged record, the national guide explains how to dispute it.

Eviction records

Texas has no process to remove or seal an eviction from your record, according to the Texas State Law Library. The library says the main exceptions are certain Rule 76a circumstances and cases dismissed under the former Eviction Diversion program, which no longer exists.4,5,6,7

The library also says eviction court records are presumed open and that negative information can stay on a credit report for up to 7 years (its page was last updated January 19, 2024). Three 2025 bills on keeping eviction case information confidential, HB 1369, HB 2223 and SB 948, were referred to committee in the regular session, and the Legislature's bill histories show no later action as of October 29, 2026, so none of them became law.

Austin rules

Austin city code

We found no city ordinance limiting criminal-history screening by private landlords in Austin as of October 29, 2026. Austin City Code chapter 5-1 (Housing Discrimination) protects race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, familial status, disability, marital status, student status, creed, national origin, protective hairstyle, reproductive health action and source of income, and a criminal record is not listed.8,9

We searched chapter 5-1 for convict, criminal and arrest; the only rule about convictions is section 5-1-51(C), which says the section does not prohibit discrimination because of a conviction for illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance. State law limits the source-of-income protection: Local Government Code sec. 250.007 bars cities from requiring landlords to accept federal housing vouchers. The Office of Civil Rights administers it (section 5-1-31). We read the code version dated August 26, 2026. Texas law does not limit screening either, so private landlords set their own criteria.

Public housing and vouchers in Austin

Voucher mandatory denials

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (it now calls itself Austin Housing Authority) has a voucher plan, revised May 29, 2025, that says it screens applicants fairly and aims to reduce barriers for people with criminal histories. It lists these mandatory denials: a drug-related eviction from federally assisted housing in the last 3 years, current illegal drug use (the plan counts use within the past 12 months), a reasonable-cause finding that drug use threatens others, a conviction for making meth on federally assisted premises or any location, and lifetime sex-offense registration.10

These are in chapter 3, part III (PDF page 80). The plan may consider admission after rehabilitation or if the member no longer lives in the household. It says it will not deny solely because of an arrest, but may consider an arrest for disqualifying activity alongside a prior conviction within a lookback period. It also says to assess cases individually. Previous behavior in assisted housing can lead to denial for violence or abuse toward staff within 4 years, or eviction from federally assisted housing within 3 years. The plan says households are denied for listed convictions during a "designated review (look back) period" counted from the offense date, but its text does not list those periods (the only images on those pages are small icons), so ask the authority which periods it uses.

Records and disputes

The authority gets criminal history reports from a third-party vendor or government agency after a signed consent, for household members 18 or older (consent from age 17), and runs a national sex-offense check on all adults (section 3-III.D, PDF pages 83 to 84). Before a denial, the authority must give the household a copy of the record and a chance to dispute it. After a denial notice, you have 15 calendar days to ask in writing for an informal hearing, or the denial becomes final.10,11

You may present mitigating information such as your age at conviction, good tenant history, employment and rehabilitation. The denial notice gives a detailed summary of the criminal history and your right to ask for an informal hearing. The authority's Housing Choice Voucher page says the voucher waitlist is closed, so check that page, or call (512) 477-4488, before applying.

Pathways properties

The authority's own Pathways properties, which were converted from public housing, have separate tenant selection plans with an offense table. In the four plans we read (effective 10/20/26), the household is rejected for meth production, for a drug-related eviction from federally assisted housing in the last 5 years, or if a member is or ever has been subject to a state sex-offense registration program.12,13

That registration rule is broader than the voucher plan's lifetime rule. The plans list offenses rejected regardless of date (capital murder, murder, arson, kidnapping, indecency with a child, rape or sexual crimes, first-degree felony injury to a child, elderly or disabled person, explosives and terrorism). Seven years covers manslaughter, felony violence, felony assault, felony burglary, felony robbery and felony delivery or possession of a controlled substance. Four years covers misdemeanor drug activity, misdemeanor assault, fraud against a government entity, illegal weapon and public lewdness. A pattern of 3 or more incidents in the same category within 5 years, with at least one in the past 3 years, covers alcohol-related crimes, misdemeanor marijuana possession, theft or fraud, organized criminal activity, prostitution and misdemeanor harassment. The plans say they will not deny solely because of an arrest. The authority's Pathway Residents page lists 17 property plans, and three of them are dated 2024, so check the plan for the property you apply to.

Informal review

For vouchers, ask in writing for an informal review within 15 calendar days of the denial (chapter 16, PDF pages 363 to 365). The authority schedules the review with written notice within 30 calendar days of your request, and a hearing officer who did not make the decision conducts it.10,12

You may present written or oral objections, and the plan allows remote reviews. For Pathways properties, ask in writing within 15 calendar days of the rejection; appeals go to the Admissions Department at the authority's central office. The plans say a written decision follows within 10 business days of an informal review, or within 5 business days of an informal hearing for project-based rental assistance applicants. The Pathways plans also give the household 7 calendar days to resolve a discrepancy with a criminal report.

Where to get help in Austin

2-1-1 and housing counseling

Dial 2-1-1 or (877) 541-7905 to reach 2-1-1 Texas, a program of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. It is free, anonymous and open 24 hours a day, every day, and calls go to one of 25 regional information centers.16,17,18,19

HUD's housing counseling search lists HUD-approved agencies. When we searched HUD's agency data for agencies within 20 miles of downtown Austin on October 29, 2026, it returned 3, and none listed rental housing counseling, so use HUD's locator to widen the search or call 2-1-1. HUD's list changes over time, so your own search may show a different number. HUD does not define the status codes in that data, and some listed agencies may not be active. The national guide has HUD's counseling number, 800-569-4287.

Avoiding rental scams in Texas

Texas Attorney General

The Texas Attorney General warns that scammers post fake rental listings to collect advance deposits, then make excuses when you ask to see the property. Be especially cautious if an owner asks for a deposit before you have seen the property in person.20

The office says some scams involve a tenant posing as the owner, so try to verify that the person is the real owner or an authorized sublessor. It lists odd payment requests, such as wire transfers through Western Union or payment outside the listing website, as warning signs. If you run into one of these scams you can file a consumer complaint online with the Attorney General's office. The national guide has the FTC's list of warning signs.

Sources

Each source was opened and checked on October 29, 2026.

  1. Texas Property Code chapter 301: Texas Fair Housing Act (sec. 301.021)Texas Legislature (Texas Constitution and Statutes)
  2. Texas Property Code chapter 92: Residential Tenancies (secs. 92.351 to 92.355)Texas Legislature (Texas Constitution and Statutes)
  3. Texas Government Code chapter 411 (secs. 411.074, 411.0755, 411.076, 411.0765 and 411.0851)Texas Legislature (Texas Constitution and Statutes)
  4. Can I remove an eviction from my record?Texas State Law Library
  5. 89(R) History for HB 1369 (confidentiality of residential eviction case information)Texas Legislature Online
  6. 89(R) History for HB 2223 (confidentiality of eviction case information)Texas Legislature Online
  7. 89(R) History for SB 948 (confidentiality of residential eviction case information)Texas Legislature Online
  8. Austin City Code, title 5, chapter 5-1: Housing DiscriminationCity of Austin (Municode)
  9. Texas Local Government Code sec. 250.007: Regulation of rental or leasing of housing accommodationsTexas Legislature (Texas Constitution and Statutes)
  10. Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan (revised May 29, 2025)Housing Authority of the City of Austin
  11. Housing Choice Voucher ProgramHousing Authority of the City of Austin
  12. Northgate Tenant Selection Plan (effective 10-20-26)Housing Authority of the City of Austin
  13. Pathway Residents resourcesHousing Authority of the City of Austin
  14. Legal Aid (Legal Aid Resources: Can't Afford a Lawyer?)Texas Judicial Branch
  15. Get HelpTexas RioGrande Legal Aid
  16. About 2-1-1 Texas and our Organization2-1-1 Texas (Texas Health and Human Services Commission)
  17. Housing Counseling Services searchU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  18. HUD Housing Counselor agency search by location (20-mile radius, queried October 29, 2026)U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  19. HUD Housing Counselor services listU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  20. Real Estate & Rental ScamsOffice of the Attorney General of Texas

Where to go next

All guides