What Are the New Laws for Homeless People in Texas?

In 2025, Texas passed a wave of new local and state-level laws targeting homelessness - not by offering more support, but by making it harder to survive on the streets. These aren’t vague policy changes. They’re enforceable ordinances that criminalize basic human behaviors: sleeping in public, sitting on sidewalks, even asking for food. And while the state claims these laws are about "public safety," the real impact is pushing people who have nowhere else to go into a cycle of fines, arrests, and jail time - all without a single new shelter bed being built.

It’s Not About Safety - It’s About Removal

Cities like Austin, Houston, and San Antonio passed ordinances that ban sleeping in public parks, under bridges, or on sidewalks after dark. In Austin, the law says you can’t use a blanket, sleeping bag, or even a cardboard box to protect yourself from the cold if you’re outside after 10 p.m. Violate it, and you’re looking at a $500 fine. Repeat offenses? Jail time. No exceptions. No warning. No shelter referral.

Here’s the catch: there aren’t enough shelter beds to go around. In Houston, there are about 4,200 shelter spots available on any given night - but an estimated 8,500 people are homeless. That means more than half of the unhoused population has no legal place to go. Yet the law treats them like criminals for trying to rest.

These laws don’t reduce homelessness. They just move it. People who used to sleep near grocery stores or public libraries now sleep farther out, in drainage ditches, under highways, or in abandoned buildings. The city calls it "cleaning up" - people on the ground call it displacement.

Blocking Access to Basic Needs

It’s not just about sleeping. In Dallas, a 2025 ordinance bans distributing food to homeless people in public spaces without a city permit. That means church groups, student volunteers, and even individuals who bring sandwiches to someone they see on the street can be fined $1,000. The city says it’s to prevent "unsanitary conditions." But the real effect? It cuts off the only reliable food source for thousands who can’t get into shelters because they’re full, or because they’re turned away for having pets, being in a relationship, or just being too sick to walk through the intake process.

One woman in Fort Worth told a local reporter she hadn’t eaten in three days because the nearest food distribution site was shut down under the new rule. "I didn’t steal. I didn’t beg. I just sat on a bench. And now I’m told I can’t be fed unless the city says so."

Shelters Are Not the Answer - If They’re Not Accessible

Texas officials keep saying, "We’re building more shelters." But the numbers don’t add up. Since 2023, the state has allocated $180 million to "housing solutions." But over 70% of that went to private contractors to build temporary housing units - not shelters, not transitional housing, not permanent housing. These units are often located miles from public transit, in industrial zones, with no services. And they require background checks, sobriety tests, and mandatory religious counseling. Many people are turned away for not meeting these conditions - even if they’re mentally ill, disabled, or recovering from trauma.

Shelters in Texas also have strict rules: no couples together, no pets, no belongings over 20 pounds. For many, these aren’t just inconveniences - they’re dealbreakers. A veteran with a service dog? Denied. A mother with her two kids? Put in separate dorms. Someone who just needs a quiet place to sleep? Told to leave at sunrise.

And here’s the truth no one talks about: many people choose to sleep outside because the shelters are worse than the streets. There’s violence. Theft. Overcrowding. Staff who don’t speak Spanish. No access to showers. No storage for medical supplies. One man in El Paso said, "I’d rather sleep under a bridge with rats than go inside and get my insulin stolen."

What About Legal Challenges?

Advocacy groups have sued. In 2024, the ACLU filed a federal case against the city of San Antonio, arguing that criminalizing homelessness violates the Eighth Amendment - which protects against cruel and unusual punishment. The court agreed in part: it ruled that cities can’t fine people for sleeping outside if there’s no shelter space available. But the ruling only applies to areas where shelters are truly full. As soon as a single empty bed opens up - even if it’s 30 miles away - the city can resume enforcement.

That’s the loophole. Texas cities now track shelter occupancy in real time. When a bed opens, they send out police to clear encampments the next morning. It’s not about helping people. It’s about managing visibility.

The Human Cost

These laws don’t just affect the people living on the streets. They affect everyone who tries to help. Volunteers are afraid to bring food. Teachers report students who sleep in their cars. Nurses say they’re seeing more cases of frostbite, infections, and untreated diabetes because people are too scared to go to clinics - they’d rather risk dying than risk arrest.

Children are the hardest hit. In 2025, Texas schools recorded over 120,000 homeless students - the highest number in the country. Many of them are doubled up with relatives, living in motels, or sleeping in cars. But when they’re caught sleeping on park benches, their parents get fined. Some lose custody. Others are forced into foster care because the state says they’re "neglecting their children" by not being able to afford a home.

What’s the Alternative?

There’s a better way. Cities like Salt Lake City and Houston (in 2018) tried a simple model: Housing First. Give people a home - no strings attached. No sobriety requirements. No background checks. Just a place to live. Then offer support: mental health, job training, case management. In Salt Lake City, the program cut chronic homelessness by 91% over 10 years. And it saved the city money - fewer ambulance calls, fewer arrests, fewer emergency room visits.

Texas could do this. It has the money. It has the space. But instead, it’s choosing to punish people for being poor.

What Can You Do?

If you live in Texas, you can’t change the law overnight - but you can challenge it. Support local groups like the Texas Homeless Network or the Austin Justice Coalition. Donate to shelters that don’t turn people away. Show up at city council meetings. Demand that funds go to permanent housing, not police sweeps. And if you see someone sleeping on a sidewalk, don’t call the police. Ask if they need water. A blanket. A meal. Sometimes, that’s the only law that still makes sense.