San Antonio is now the second Texas city to approve an ordinance banning landlords from turning away veterans who pay their rent with a federal housing voucher.
In most cases, Texas law protects landlords’ ability to choose whether they want to rent to people paying with a voucher — a move that an inspection process and can often result in delayed first payments.
But the law allows cities to make narrow exceptions when it comes to city-funded properties, as well as for veterans seeking to use either a VA Supportive Housing (VASH) or Housing Choice Voucher (known as Section 8) within city limits.
On Thursday, the City Council unanimously approved a plan to pursue the latter, requiring landlords who own five or more properties to accept such applicants — even if that landlord wasn’t previously in the vouchers pool — or face escalating punishments if they don’t.
The vote came after an emotional, hours-long discussion in which many veterans urged the council to pursue a solution they said places only a minimal burden on property owners, when compared to what veterans give up in service to their country.
Many said they had first-hand experience of struggling to find housing, or had a friend or relative who did.
Some said they had even previously lived on the street.
“There are not enough landlords who accept vouchers of any type. Opportunity Home oversees over 13,000 vouchers, and yet, there are only a little over 2,000 landlords that accept them — many who are known slum lords,” said a formerly homeless veteran who identified herself as Molly, but did not give her last name, during public comment. “I know the state doesn’t allow a source of income discrimination for all vouchers, but it does for veterans. So with love, true love, why wouldn’t we honorably desire to protect all veterans?”
At the same time, numerous property managers and landlords in attendance sought to explain a business model they said actually relies on small margins — and could cost them their properties if late payments put them behind on their mortgage.
“One of the problems with the program is delay of payment, which takes 30 to 60 days after inspection is completed,” said Karen Fisher, a former Air Force nurse who went on to own and manage single-family rental homes.
“If I hold the slot for a voucher, I am now in default of my mortgage and put in financial hardship,” Fisher said. “Mandating this ordinance for small business owners like me is not feasible.”
The council voted 11-0 in favor of the ordinance, after voting down Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ attempt to broaden it out to all landlords and assess the fine more quickly.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones addresses the council during a meeting on Thursday. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
Fort Worth approved a similar ordinance in 2024, and a previous San Antonio City Council considered doing the same in 2024.
In both cases, the American GI Forum was a driving force behind the policies, in hopes of demonstrating success at the city level will help pave the way for a statewide policy change later down the line.
“A city solution … we can have it right now … versus going through legislation where it takes almost 100 days going through the process, and then sometimes, it falls back,” said Pete Bernal, commander of the American GI Forum of Bexar County. “That’s the whole reason why we started here, and then we can move it up to the state level and the national level.”
The ability to relocate
In a city that is home to more than 90,000 veterans, San Antonio city leaders estimate roughly 2,000 of them receive either a VASH or Housing Choice Voucher — nearly all are of whom are currently placed in housing.
But proponents of the new ordinance say they’ll now be able to more easily find housing close to VA clinics, which are concentrated on the North Side, or relocate from the limited housing options currently available to voucher holders.
“What the stats don’t show is where veterans would prefer to live if given the option,” said Jones, an Air Force veteran who revived the ordinance after it stalled under a previous council. “They don’t show the number of veterans that are many, many miles away from the VA clinic that they would prefer to live closer to, if there was an opportunity to do so.”
Council was largely sympathetic to that idea, but not ready to make overnight voucher recipients out of all of San Antonio’s smaller landlords.
The original proposal Jones submitted would have applied to all rental units and created a $500 fine if they were found out of compliance.
Last week the council’s Planning and Community Development Committee amended it to apply only to landlords with more than four properties, and offered several lesser penalties before a fine is issued.
Veterans and veteran-focused group members speak to the council about housing for veterans during a Planning and Community Development Committee meeting on April 29, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
On Thursday, Jones argued passionately to undo those changes from the dais, siding with the veterans who suggested council was going overboard in accommodating people wealthy enough to own multiple properties.
“Our penalties for people who have dogs off a leash are actually more strict than that,” the mayor said of the multiple warnings.
But the majority of the council agreed that they needed to roll this new policy out more gently — to the jeers and frustration of some veterans in the audience.
“You can be as upset as you want,” Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) said to those in the chamber before joining the council majority in rejecting Jones’ revisions. “This is a state-level [issue]. … So I will not be supporting the amendment.”
Diana Flores Uriegas holds a sign in support of housing vouchers for veterans at a city council meeting on Thursday. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
As it stands, city staff doesn’t have a good way to track which of the roughly 357,000 total rental units in San Antonio are owned by someone who would be subject to the new rule.
Instead, Neighborhood and Housing Services Department Director Veronica Garcia said they’ll look into complaints made by veterans who’ve been rejected, and then try to determine whether that person owns five or more properties.
Some housing advocates said that means it will still be hard for veterans to rent single-family homes if the policy isn’t applied to all rental properties, and they don’t know how many properties the person owns before trying to rent from them.
But the meeting ended with an exhausted council celebrating the move as a step in the right direction for a city that wants to be known as Military City USA.
“This compromise actually brings 257,000 units — at the minimum — online,” said Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who proposed the amendment when it was in committee. “That’s more than half of the available rentals, and it includes all of the additional [single-family homes] that are owned by a business that has multiple single-family rentals.”