San Antonio’s public housing system may soon undergo a major transformation, as local housing officials move to shift thousands of units to a new federal funding model they say is necessary to keep the properties from falling into disrepair.
Opportunity Home San Antonio, the city’s public housing authority, is proposing to transition its public housing portfolio — more than 6,000 units across dozens of properties — into programs like the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration, or RAD, while redeveloping aging communities over the next decade.
The shift would move properties away from traditional public housing funding, which relies on annual federal appropriations, to longer-term contract-based subsidies that officials say are more stable and allow easier access to financing for repairs.
Housing officials say the move is necessary to preserve deeply affordable housing for the long term. But the plan is already drawing concern from advocates and residents who worry about tenant protections, displacement and oversight.
A system under strain
At the center of the proposal is a stark financial reality.
Opportunity Home estimates its public housing portfolio faces more than $550 million in deferred maintenance, including aging infrastructure like roofs, plumbing, electrical systems and elevators. At current funding levels, officials say it would take 154 years to complete those repairs.
At the same time, the agency is operating at a loss — about $1.4 million per month in its public housing program — driven by rising costs and declining federal funding.
But officials say the challenge isn’t just a lack of money — it’s how the system itself is structured.
Under the traditional public housing model, properties are owned and regulated by the federal government, limiting how local housing authorities can invest in them. Opportunity Home cannot take out loans or leverage the value of its properties to fund major repairs, and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is determined year to year through congressional appropriations.
“The housing model is broken. We cannot sustain what we have, and without taking a new approach, we will, regrettably, probably lose these communities,” Chief Strategy, Data and Innovation Officer Aiyana Longoria said. “Rather than lose the housing that we have, we want to be able to preserve it and preserve the affordability.”
Without changes, officials say, the consequences could be severe as funding cuts at the federal level continue.
“We not only have units offline, we have buildings offline because we cannot repair them. We don’t have the money for it,” said Lorraine Robles, the agency’s chief real estate and development officer. “If we don’t act now to preserve what we already have — the 6,000 units — they’re going to slowly deteriorate and become obsolete.”
The proposal
To address those challenges, Opportunity Home is looking to shift much of its public housing portfolio to programs like RAD — a move that would change how properties are funded, but not how rent is calculated for residents.
Under the proposed changes, tenants would continue to pay about 30% of their income toward rent, the same standard used in traditional public housing.
The difference, officials say, is how the housing itself is funded and maintained.
Instead of relying on annual federal appropriations, properties converted through RAD are supported by long-term contracts tied to the federal voucher system. That shift allows housing authorities to access more stable funding and take on financing to repair or rebuild aging properties.
“That’s another extremely beneficial aspect to changing as an agency — how we’re funding our lowest-income residents for their rental assistance in the community,” Chief Operating Officer Jose Mascorro said. “It’s a contract, and it’s not subject to change every year. So we can project and we can plan.”
For residents, the agency says key protections would remain in place, including relocation assistance during redevelopment and the ability to return once construction is complete.
Public housing communities would be redeveloped in phases, with residents temporarily relocated to other units in the area at no cost while construction takes place.
“We would pay for that move and relocate them to the new property when their unit is ready,” Robles said. “We pay for that move back to the new or rehabilitated property.”
The agency also says it intends to maintain long-term affordability and control of the properties, even as funding structures change, through tools like deed restrictions or long-term ground leases.
The proposed shift is part of a broader strategy outlined in Opportunity Home’s Moving to Work plan and long-term redevelopment efforts, which aim to reposition much of the agency’s public housing portfolio over the next decade.
Housing advocates raise concerns
The proposal has drawn concern from housing advocates, residents and city leaders, many of whom argue the shift could move San Antonio away from traditional public housing and toward a more privatized system.
While Opportunity Home officials have made verbal commitments to retain ownership of properties after conversion, critics point to the structure of RAD programs, which allows public housing properties to be converted to privately managed or partnered developments under long-term federal contracts.
During a press conference Monday, District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo said that possibility raises questions about whether public housing in San Antonio would remain fully public.
“When we looked at the Move to Work plan, though, we heard a public commitment that they intend to maintain the property,” Castillo said. “Codified within their Move to Work language is the opportunity to enter into a public-private partnership. So we’re hearing one thing and the documents say another.”
Advocates also questioned whether RAD conversions would deliver on promises of reinvestment, pointing to examples in other cities where similar efforts have not prevented long-term deterioration or displacement.
Castillo and other advocates worry how the changes could affect tenants directly. Among those concerns were proposed updates to lease policies, including limits on door-to-door outreach, changes to the number of housing units offered to applicants, removal of cash assistance to help cover utility bills, and repayment programs for debts associated with public housing.
Opportunity Home officials said Tuesday in an email that one of those provisions — a clause restricting door-to-door solicitation — would be removed from the proposed lease changes following feedback from residents and community members.
Officials had previously said the rule was driven by complaints from residents.
“We had residents complaining about each other because others were … going door to door, asking them to sign my petition,” Mascorro said. “They didn’t want to sign it, but they didn’t want to say no. So the residents drove our decision to make a change.”
Agency leaders said changes to repayment structures and utility assistance would still have hardship provisions and not affect elderly or disabled residents.
The changes would largely focus on families participating in programs aimed at helping them reach financial self-sufficiency. The repayment provision would apply to residents moving between Opportunity Home programs and would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. No existing agreements would be changed.
What happens next
The City Council does not directly control Opportunity Home’s decisions. The agency presented its plan to the City Council’s Planning and Community Development Committee for briefing purposes only.
The Opportunity Home Board of Commissioners approved the plan at its April 1 meeting, with revisions expected to clarify rules around who can perform maintenance work.
The plan will now be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by April 15 for review and approval.
Depending on when HUD approval is granted, the plan could take effect as early as July 1.
“Once everything gets approved, then we would begin immediately,” Robles said.
Four properties across the city are slated for the initial batch of conversions, including sites with both significant repair needs and others requiring minimal work. Those conversions would require a letter of support from the mayor before they can proceed.
The San Antonio Report reached out to the office of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, but did not receive a response as of publication.
