Ronald Demery has been anxiously awaiting a letter from the Texas General Land Office concerning recovery funds following Hurricane Harvey, which struck in 2017.
Finally, in February—over seven years post-Harvey—Demery received a letter.
Unfortunately, the contents were far from what he had hoped for.
“I thought it was good news, saying they had found me a builder to come do my home,” he recounted.
“To my dismay, they informed me they were out of funds. I said, ‘Oh no, not again.’”
Demery is one of 30 households whose applications for home repairs were withdrawn due to the depletion of available funds.
In total, more than 3,200 households faced denials or withdrawals for the same reason.
Following Hurricane Harvey, the City of Houston and the Texas General Land Office clashed over the distribution of more than $720 million in federal recovery funds.
After the city managed to rebuild fewer than 300 homes within three years, the land office assumed control of the recovery program.
Since taking over, the state agency has successfully rebuilt over 2,200 homes in Houston.
For Demery, this recent disappointment comes after years of navigating back-and-forth communications with both city and state agencies.
He indicated that damage to his home has been growing progressively worse.
“The floor and plumbing are damaged.
On the outside, there are holes in the walls and exposed wires.
It’s bad. It’s getting worse and worse.”
He noted that the situation deteriorated further after Hurricane Beryl struck last year, compounding the damage initially inflicted by Hurricane Harvey.
Despite the challenges, Demery remains hopeful.
There exists a possibility that he could still receive assistance due to damage caused by Beryl.
In August, the Houston City Council voted 12-3 to allocate $100 million from a larger pool of $315 million in federal funds for housing recovery from both Hurricane Beryl and the derecho wind event that occurred last year.
The allocation stipulated that half of the funds would be earmarked for multifamily housing, while the other half would focus on single-family homes.
Fred Flickinger, one of the three council members opposed to the funding shift, expressed concerns about prioritizing a small group of individuals over broader community benefits.
“I think it’s a question about whether or not the money should be used in a manner that benefits everyone in the city or only a group of select individuals,” he commented.
The $100 million designated for housing recovery came at the expense of a program designed to install backup power generators at city facilities, which is still set to receive just over $100 million.
Opponents of the funding shift sought to retain the initial funding levels for generator installation.
Council member Tiffany Thomas, who led the charge for reallocating funds for housing, emphasized the need for emergency preparedness alongside recovery efforts.
She stated, “We do need to make sure we have immediate local spots—hyperlocal attention in neighborhoods—for charging your oxygen, cell phones, just staying warm or cool.”
Thomas further underscored the importance of ensuring that once individuals leave those public facilities, they can return home and access funding for stabilization if their residences are damaged.
Joseph Bramante, CEO of TriArc Real Estate Partners, is keenly eyeing the eligibility criteria for multifamily housing repairs.
His apartment complex, Vintage at 18th, located in the Lazybook and Timbergrove area of Northwest Houston, sustained substantial damage from the recent storms, losing approximately 60 of its 372 units.
Bramante noted the compounding toll on properties due to back-to-back storms and ongoing insurance disputes.
“There are a lot of properties like ours that are struggling because of just the back-to-back nature of the two storms,” he said.
“Folks like ours are still struggling, and it’s been a year going, and (funding for repairs) is going to definitely help a lot with bringing those units back online and creating some more affordability.”
For the 30 households that did not experience rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey due to the funding shortfall, the Texas General Land Office has stated that it can facilitate the transfer of their applications to help them seek assistance through the new funding source.
Even council members who supported the new funding allocation have voiced concerns regarding restoration quality, oversight, and transparency in funding amounts allocated for each home.
“I think that the concern of how the money is being spent and how much money is being put into one property is valid,” said Julia Orduña, southeast regional director at the nonprofit advocacy group Texas Housers.
Orduña noted that her organization had advocated for additional housing funding, considering the federal government assessed around $229 million in unmet housing needs after the derecho and Hurricane Beryl.
With only $100 million available, it’s evident that not every need will be met.
“I think that’s where we need to be strategic in the way that we’re doing this,” she advised.
Following Hurricane Harvey, Houston allocated nearly $630 million in federal funding for housing initiatives.
However, the reconstruction of single-family homes post-Harvey only saw fewer than 4,000 homes built, with most being completely demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.
The Texas General Land Office set the rehabilitation cost cap at $65,000 for most residences.
In the aftermath of the recent storms, the federal government identified close to 4,000 homes as having serious unmet housing needs.
The city has yet to establish a dollar threshold to determine whether a home will be repaired or entirely rebuilt.
“If we are concerned with the repairs of the house and catering to each community member’s needs, then we need to address those needs as they come, and not just try to tear down houses and build them as fast as possible—because that’s ultimately where the money is being spent,” Orduña emphasized.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approximately 45 days to approve the city’s spending plan, with the city’s housing department anticipating that funding will begin to flow by early next year.
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