Texas man explains breaking lease on $1,300-a-month apartment: 'It was really eating me alive'

With another increase looming on rent of roughly $1,300 a month, Scott Baker broke the lease on his one-bedroom apartment in Tyler, Texas. Health problems had forced the 66-year-old to stop working, leaving him unable to afford the home.

Here's what to know

The East Texas Shared Housing Network convened for the first time in Tyler, bringing organizations together to address housing affordability, KLTV reported.

Both rent and mortgage payments are proving difficult for East Texans to afford, according to JDE CEO Jessilyn Edwards.

For Baker, who found a home through JDE Housing Solutions, the expense had become overwhelming.

"The rent was going up again," he said. "$1,300 something a month it was really eating me alive. I had to break the lease."

Homelessness was the alternative Baker described to KLTV if he had not found that housing. According to the Texas Demographic Center, poverty affects one in 10 Americans, with Texas holding the 11th-highest ranking.

More background

A required background screening kept Arthur Spaulding, another JDE resident, from securing housing, he told KLTV.

Spaulding said he would "probably end up back in jail honestly" without his connection to JDE.

Gas and food bills are adding to families' housing pressures and forcing difficult decisions, said network member Phyllis Roberts, a realtor.

For some families, affording food may mean sleeping in a car instead of paying for decent housing.

Roberts pointed to the lack of available options as the reason people are left without stable housing, rejecting the idea that their own decisions are to blame.

"The situation that they're in isn't because they made bad choices," Roberts said. "There's just not things available."

What's being done?

JDE Housing Solutions has provided homes for both Baker and Spaulding, helping them overcome financial and screening barriers that had put stable housing out of reach.

According to KLTV, Roberts also assists homeowners alongside the City of Tyler through the housing choice voucher, a program that helps families with low incomes secure housing. Homeowners may receive as much as $25,000 for a new home or approximately $15,000 for an existing one.

Other organizations are being asked to join the East Texas Shared Housing Network's efforts.

Tyler's Oak Street Health is the location for the network's meetings, held on the first Wednesday of every month.

For Spaulding, a home through JDE has provided an opportunity to rebuild his life.

"Coming here just allowed me to start doing what I need to do to start putting my life back together," he said.

Where can I learn more?

Renters beyond Tyler are also struggling with rising costs and barriers to stable housing.

• A 52-year-old U.K. renter shares a home with three others because living alone is unaffordable.

• A Texas woman bought a tiny home for $98,000 after leaving a $3,000 rental.

• Austin residents fear rising housing costs will price out their children and are demanding action.

• New York retirees said a 15% rent cut never came despite a ruling that they're owed $10,000.

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