Study recommends 10 solutions to make Austin more affordable for students 

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Housing Department has 10 recommendations for more affordable housing for students at Austin universities. 

In 2023, the Austin City Council approved a resolution directing the city manager to study student housing in Austin and explore opportunities to make it more affordable for students. On Friday, the Housing Department released its report, detailing its research and recommendations. 

“The City of Austin Housing Department seeks to provide affordable housing for everyone, and that includes our student population. This study gave us the opportunity to look at ways to increase affordable and accessible student housing within the city of Austin,” Housing Department Interim Director Mandy DeMayo told KXAN. 

 “We have provided 10 recommendations to City Council on ways to do this. We value our college students and want to make safe, affordable and accessible housing available to them,” she added. 

Recommendations included establishing a college student housing consortium, maintaining a real-time student data dashboard, and accelerating and reading the permitting process for university housing developments. 

Read the full report and recommendations below:

The Housing Department staff determined their recommendations by engaging with local universities and students, analyzing student population and housing data, and analyzing practices in U.S. cities with comparable characteristics, such as Portland, Oregon, and Boston, Massachusetts. 

Addressing a need

When Edwin Bautista moved to Austin for his undergraduate program, finding housing was daunting and he felt some student housing businesses were predatory.

"I was coming from a small town in Texas with some of the most affordable places to live in Texas," he said. "[Then] coming to the most expensive market -- finding housing was new to me."

Bautista said many coming to Austin to attend college have limited resources as he did when he moved into town several years ago.

"I did not have the resources that many students here at UT have, [like those who] come from a family with wealth," he said.

"I think it is important for the city to recognize there are a diverse set of students that come the to the city. It's important to make sure they take into account that they're serving the entire population, and not just the ones that can afford housing," Bautista added.