Heather K. Way | Faculty | Texas Law
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Heather K. Way
Clinical Professor
View CV
Contact
hway@law.utexas.edu
512-232-1210
CCJ 1.304
Coordinator:
Rita Carolyn Stramel
Areas of Specialty
Housing
Community Development
Nonprofit Organizations
Business Associations
Education
JD University of Texas at Austin
BA University of Texas at Austin
BJ University of Texas at Austin
Media Availability Topics
Housing policy, affordable housing, seller financing, equitable economic development, code enforcement, heirs’ property, property tax policy
Photo credit
Lauren Slusher
Heather Way is a Clinical Professor at Texas Law, where she directs the Housing Policy Clinic and teaches in the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic. Her teaching, research, and law reform work focus on addressing systemic housing and community development challenges that affect low-income families and marginalized communities.
A national expert in housing law and policy and frequent media commentator, Professor Way's work has shaped numerous high-impact legal reforms that strengthen families' housing stability and address critical gaps in housing policy.
Professor Way, a lifelong Texan who grew up in the Texas Hill Country, enjoys backpacking, trail running, and exploring the Austin region’s greenbelts and spring-fed swimming holes.
Featured Work
Report
The Intersection of Residential Heirs' Property and Property Tax Foreclosure
Report
Combatting Junk Fees in Texas Rental Housing: A Pathway to Fairer and More Transparent Leasing Practices
In the Media
View more
Urban Affairs Review | March 23, 2026
Inherited Homes and Urban Inequality
Moneywise | March 6, 2026
California family feels ‘victimized’ after real estate investor allegedly exploits tensions, forges documents and puts up a fence on their property
Heather Way is a Clinical Professor at Texas Law, where she directs the Housing Policy Clinic and teaches in the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic. A national expert in affordable housing and community development law, her work focuses on advancing housing justice, expanding economic opportunity, and fostering equitable and inclusive communities.
Professor Way's work has helped shape high-impact legal reforms that strengthen housing stability and close critical gaps in housing policy affecting low- and moderate-income families. Her recent projects with law students have addressed issues such as
curbing junk fees in rental housing
and
advancing equity in property tax systems
She is a leading authority on heirs’ property, a form of land ownership passed down across generations that disproportionately impacts African American families. Her most recent scholarship has revealed the prevalence and unique challenges of
heirs’ property in urban areas
, the disproportionate risks of
property tax foreclosure
, and pervasive legal barriers that limit access to
tax relief
and
disaster recovery aid
. These findings have informed significant legal reforms, including legislation expanding access to
homestead exemptions
for heirs' property homeowners.
Professor Way serves on the governing committee of the American Bar Association’s Affordable Housing and Community Development Forum and co-chairs the Forum’s Community Development Practitioners and Legal Educators Practice Group. She previously served as an advisor to the Uniform Law Commission’s Tenancy in Common Ownership Default Rules Drafting Committee. She founded the
Uprooted Project
, an initiative providing tools to address displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods. She is also the co-author of
Real Property for the Real World
, a book featuring hands-on case studies for property law students. A frequent media commentator, she has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, NPR, and other outlets.
After graduating from The University of Texas School of Law—where she was Grand Chancellor and co-founded the Public Interest Law Association—Professor Way clerked for the Honorable William Wayne Justice of the Eastern District of Texas and then served as a Skadden Fellow at Legal Aid of Central Texas, representing low-income tenants and community organizations. She later co-founded and directed Texas Community Building with Attorney Resources (Texas C-BAR), a statewide initiative providing pro bono transactional legal services to community organizations.
year-2024
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Combatting Rental Junk Fees at the State and Local Levels
Heather K. Way
. "Combatting Rental Junk Fees at the State and Local Levels." National webinar hosted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Consumer Law Center, Housing Policy Clinic, and BASTA (November 20, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
A Right to Stay: Dallas Neighborhood Anti-Displacement Toolkit,
Heather K. Way
. Moderator for Panel on "A Right to Stay: Dallas Neighborhood Anti-Displacement Toolkit," hosted by Builders of Hope and JPMorgan Chase, Dallas, Texas (November 14, 2024).
Report
The Intersection of Residential Heirs' Property and Property Tax Foreclosure
Heather K. Way. "The Intersection of Residential Heirs' Property and Property Tax Foreclosure" (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, November 8, 2024).
View online
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Hot Housing Policy Topics in the 2025 Texas Legislative Session
Heather K. Way
“Hot Housing Policy Topics in the 2025 Texas Legislative Session”
at 2024 Policy Summit, Texas Association of CDCs
(November 7, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Local Government Issues: Blight, Code Enforcement, and Property Tax Foreclosure
Heather K. Way
“Local Government Issues: Blight, Code Enforcement, and Property Tax Foreclosure”
at Estate Planning & Heirs’ Property Intensive, National Consumer Law Center, 2024 Consumer Rights Litigation Conference
(October 23, 2024).
Other Publication
The Impacts of Heirs' Property on Homeowners in North Texas
Heather K. Way
and Noah J Durst. "The Impacts of Heirs' Property on Homeowners in North Texas" (Asset Funders Network, October 9, 2024).
View online
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Heirs’ Property Homeowners: Pathways and Pitfalls to Achieving Housing Stability
Heather K. Way
“Heirs’ Property Homeowners: Pathways and Pitfalls to Achieving Housing Stability”
at 2024 Poverty Law Conference, State Bar of Texas
(August 29, 2024).
Report
Best Practices to Prevent Substandard Conditions in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties
Texas Law Housing Policy Clinic, "Best Practices to Prevent Substandard Conditions in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties" (August 22, 2024).
View online
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Property Tax Justice and Heirs' Property
Heather K. Way
“Property Tax Justice and Heirs' Property”
at Law & Society Association Annual Meeting
(June 6, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Property Tax Foreclosures and Heirs Property
Heather K. Way
“Property Tax Foreclosures and Heirs Property”
at 2024 Mortgage Conference, National Consumer Law Center and National Association of Consumer Advocates
(June 4, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Teaching and Facilitating Teamwork in a Transactional Law Clinic
Heather K. Way
“Teaching and Facilitating Teamwork in a Transactional Law Clinic”
at 20th Annual Transactional Clinical Conference, St. Louis University, School of Law
(May 1, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Public Facility Corporations, Pitfalls and Opportunities
Heather K. Way
. "Public Facility Corporations, Pitfalls and Opportunities, hosted by ULI’s Multifamily Local (Austin) District Council (April 16, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Moderator, Advancing Housing Affordability in Counties
Heather K. Way
. Moderator, "Advancing Housing Affordability in Counties" at UT School of Law Land Use Law Conference, Austin, TX (April 5, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Heirs’ Property Homeowners: Barriers to Resilience
Heather K. Way
“Heirs’ Property Homeowners: Barriers to Resilience”
at Fannie Mae's National Convening on Heirs’ Property: Past and Future, Fannie Mae Headquarters, Washington D.C.
(April 4, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Property Tax Foreclosures of Heirs' Property Homes
Heather K. Way
“Property Tax Foreclosures of Heirs' Property Homes”
at Heirs’ Property and the Racial Wealth Gap Conference, Boston College Law School
(March 22, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Heirs' Property and Homeownership in Texas
Heather K. Way
“Heirs' Property and Homeownership in Texas”
at Asset Funders Network Convening on Heirs' Property, United Way, Fort Worth, TX
(February 29, 2024).
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Heirs' Property and Disasters
Heather K. Way
“Heirs' Property and Disasters”
at Disaster Primr 2024: Interfaces of Disaster, Texas A&M University
(February 24, 2024).
Other Activity
Moderator, Community Development from the Frontlines
Heather K. Way
. Moderator, "Community Development from the Frontlines" at UT School of Law Nonprofit Organizations Institute, Austin, TX (February 9, 2024).
Report
Combatting Junk Fees in Texas Rental Housing: A Pathway to Fairer and More Transparent Leasing Practices
Elizabeth Blackford, Madison DeLuca, Nicholas Heflin, and
Heather K. Way
. "Combatting Junk Fees in Texas Rental Housing: A Pathway to Fairer and More Transparent Leasing Practices" (BASTA Austin, January 31, 2024).
View online
Presentation / Panelist / Discussant
Policy in Motion: Equity in Transit Access
Heather K. Way
. Panelist, "Policy in Motion: Equity in Transit Access" at UT LBJ School of Public Affairs (January 31, 2024).
spring 2027
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2026
Clinic: Housing Policy
fall 2025
Clinic: Housing Policy
spring 2025
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2024
Clinic: Housing Policy
spring 2024
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2023
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
Clinic: Housing Policy
spring 2023
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2022
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
spring 2022
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2021
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
spring 2021
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2020
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
spring 2020
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2019
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
spring 2019
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2018
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
spring 2018
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2017
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
spring 2017
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
fall 2016
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
spring 2016
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development - Skills
fall 2015
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development - Skills
spring 2015
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development - Skills
fall 2014
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development - Skills
spring 2014
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development - Skills
fall 2013
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development
Clinic: Entrepreneurship/Community Development - Skills
spring 2013
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
fall 2012
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
spring 2012
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
fall 2011
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
spring 2011
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
fall 2010
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
spring 2010
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
fall 2009
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
spring 2009
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
fall 2008
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
spring 2008
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills
fall 2007
Clinic: Community Development
Clinic: Community Development - Skills