Dallas, TX Rental Property Rules: Section 8 Voucher Acceptance (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Dallas City Code Sec. 20A-4.1
- State authority
- Tex. Local Gov't Code Sec. 250.007(c)
- Program type
- Voluntary, tied to city subsidy
- Multifamily voucher goal
- Best efforts to lease 10% of units
- Duration
- 15 years from certificate of occupancy
- Enforcement
- Via incentive agreement, not criminal code
Summary
Dallas Code Sec. 20A-4.1 creates a voluntary program, not a mandate, tying city housing subsidies and financial awards to voucher acceptance. Projects that accept a council-approved subsidy after the ordinance's effective date must not discriminate against housing voucher holders and must meet added tenant-selection and marketing conditions.
In accordance with Section 250.007(c) of the Texas Local Government Code, as amended, the city hereby creates and implements the following voluntary program to encourage acceptance of housing vouchers, including vouchers directly or indirectly funded by the federal government. (a) Subsidy or financial award. All housing accommodations that benefit from a subsidy or financial award, as defined in Section 20A-3, approved by the city council on or after the effective date of this ordinance must: (1) not discriminate against holders of any housing vouchers, including vouchers directly or indirectly funded by the federal government; and (2) comply with Section 20A-28 regarding tenant selection criteria, Section 20A-31(e)(6) regarding registering as a vendor with local providers of housing vouchers, and Section 20A-31(g) regarding compliance with an affirmative fair housing marketing plan. (b) Financial award. Multifamily housing accommodations that benefit from a financial award approved by the city council on or after the effective date of this ordinance must make best efforts to lease up to 10 percent of the dwelling units to holders of housing vouchers... for a minimum of 15 years from the date of the initial issuance of the housing accommodation's certificate of occupancy.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 1, adopted under Texas Local Government Code Sec. 007(c), lets Dallas encourage (but not compel) landlords to accept housing vouchers, including federally funded Housing Choice Vouchers. The program only reaches housing accommodations that receive a city council-approved subsidy or financial award on or after the ordinance's effective date. Those participants must not discriminate against voucher holders and must comply with three cross-referenced obligations: Sec. 20A-28 tenant selection criteria, Sec. 20A-31(e)(6) registration as a vendor with local voucher-issuing agencies, and Sec. 20A-31(g) compliance with an affirmative fair housing marketing plan.
Multifamily projects (defined in Development Code Sec. 209(b)(5)) that receive a financial award carry a heavier obligation: they must make best efforts to lease up to 10 percent of units to voucher holders, sustained for a minimum of 15 years measured from the date the project's certificate of occupancy first issues. 'Best efforts' is defined in the section itself as compliance with subsection (a), compliance with the incentive agreement tied to the award, and submitting evidence of that compliance to the director of the department administering the award.
The ordinance history runs to Ord. Nos. 30246 and 32195. This is separate from Dallas's general source-of-income anti-discrimination offense in Sec. 20A-4, which applies citywide regardless of subsidy; Sec. 1 instead layers extra, subsidy-conditioned duties onto projects that take city money.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 20A-4.1 is not a penal ordinance: it creates no separate criminal offense or fine schedule of its own. Compliance is enforced through the incentive agreement tied to the subsidy or financial award. A participating multifamily project that fails to make best efforts toward the 10-percent voucher-leasing goal, or fails to submit evidence of compliance to the administering department director, is in breach of that incentive agreement rather than facing a Sec. 20A-4-style criminal complaint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Dallas require landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers?
What must a subsidized multifamily project do under this program?
How is this different from Dallas's source-of-income protection law?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dallas
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Dallas to another location·View the Texas rental property rules overview
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