History

THE HISTORY OF TEXAS HOUSING ASSOCIATION

The original housing authority organization that eventually became Texas Housing Association (THA) was born in the 1930s. It was christened “Texas Housing Association” in 1951, but was not officially incorporated until 1979. The organization had a strong history of trying to provide training to its members. However, the efforts were formalized in the early 1970s when it began working with the Texas Department of Community Affairs (now in combination with the former Texas Housing Agency, it is the Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs).

Working with HUD, the TDCA helped THA set up a system of training which began as a three-year experiment and evolved into a mainstay program years later. TDCA took the lead coordinative role in the training until 1981, when the Housing Division Training Branch was eliminated due to the elimination of the HUD 701 Planning Grant which had been funding training programs. In September, 1981, THA, on its own initiative, contracted with the former training manager of the TDCA Housing Division to set up a central office in Austin. The part time manager would write a newsletter, set up training, and provide a central education and information clearing house. Membership dues were raised to finance the new employee and operations.The programs grew to such a point that in September, 1987, the position was made full-time. By that time, the office had moved from the manager’s home to professional office space.

In spring of 1992, the organization applied for and was granted 50l (c) (3) status from IRS, which means that it is officially recognized as a public purpose nonprofit.