Explained: The latest eviction policies
The economy is still in the tank, the novel coronavirus pandemic is raging on (at least in the United States and especially in Texas) and renters are even more worried about getting evicted. On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders. One of them mentioned evictions. Here’s a breakdown of where eviction policy and aid stands now, nationally and locally:
Q: Does the president’s executive order stop evictions or give more aid?
A: No. Nothing in the text of the order extends the old eviction moratorium or gives more money to either landlords or tenants to stave off evictions. (White House economic Larry Kudlow said during a Sunday CNN appearance that there “would be no evictions,” but nothing in the order explicitly says so.)
Q: What does it actually say?
A: The order instructs different federal agencies to “consider” rental assistance or an eviction freeze. None of it requires action.
Q: But wait. Didn’t we have a federal eviction moratorium already?
A: Yes. As part of the CARES Act, certain federally backed landlords couldn’t serve tenants with an eviction notice
until July 25. But that’s expired.
Q: So how well did the CARES Act work?
A: By an Urban Institute estimate, the CARES Act stood to impact at least 12.3 million rental units. But it didn’t come with an enforcement mechanism or consequences for landlords who violated it. New research on Harris County evictions estimates that nearly 24 percent of evictions filed during the CARES Act period were actually illegal. (The Houston Apartment Association disputes the lead researcher’s definition of what units were covered.
Q: I live in Houston. Do we have any local protections?
A: Not anymore. The Texas Supreme Court put a moratorium on (most) evictions moving forward in court, but that ended in May. Most Harris County justices of the peace are not moving forward with evictions filed due to the coronavirus, but that’s a personal choice on the judges’ parts. There’s no formal, countywide order. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has received a draft of a grace period ordinance, but he will not put it on the City Council agenda.
Q: What’s a grace period? Does anyone in Texas have it?
A: A grace period essentially buys time for renters who can’t pay because of the pandemic to come up with the money or find somewhere else to go. It’s meant to slow down the eviction process so that people don’t end up on the street. Austin passed a 60-day grace period ordinance back in March. Dallas had a grace period that just ended.
Q: Didn’t Ken Paxton say something about that?
A: Yes, but so far it doesn’t matter. Ken Paxton (the Texas attorney general) issued an opinion that cities and counties can’t stop evictions under their local disaster declarations. But that’s an opinion and nonbinding, so it doesn’t have any immediate impact. It could matter, though, in lawsuits.
Q: Then what is being done to prevent renters from being evicted and to ensure landlords still can make money?
A: Houston and Harris County have a joint Housing Stability Task Force, which was announced in June. The City of Houston is adding $20 million to its rent relief program ($15 million from federal funds, $5 million from private donors). If a landlord receives funding for just one tenant, then they can’t evict any tenants for the entire month of September.
Q: I need rental assistance. Where do I go to sign up?
A: The portal will open sometime in the next two weeks. Landlords will be able to apply first, then tenants. Tenants will qualify based on need and vulnerability: Unlike the city’s last round of rental assistance, it won’t be first-come, first-serve.
Q: Wait a second — I still have questions.
A: Cool. Send them over: I’m at sarah.smith@chron.com. If I don’t know the answers, I can ask somebody who does.