Pandemic tenant protection policy ends
A Texas Supreme Court emergency order granting renters additional eviction protections during the pandemic ended July 1. The expiration means the termination of many protections related to emergency rental assistance and the end of a requirement for courthouses to allow legal services to do intake.
However, in Harris County, tenant advocates see a silver lining: More than a year of lawyers providing on-the-spot legal assistance to qualifying tenants laid a foundation for both judges and the county to continue supporting the work.
While the judges who oversee eviction dockets, known as justices of the peace, no longer have to allow legal services to connect with clients in their courtrooms, they can choose to do so, explained Dana Karni, litigation director for the nonprofit Lone Star Legal Aid. And, “at least in Harris County, the vast majority of justices of the peace have embraced the willingness to allow legal aid to be present in their courthouses,” Karni said.
On top of that, the Harris County Commissioners Court decided in March to fund such work, awarding $4 million in contracts to two different groups. That means that, for at least two years, Harris County renters will have more access to legal representation than they had before the pandemic. Some jurisdictions, including Baltimore and Philadelphia, have gone a step further, passing laws guaranteeing the right to a lawyer to lowincome renters facing eviction.
Lone Star Legal Aid won a $2.6 million contract, which it will use in conjunction with a group of legal aid organizations known as the Eviction Defense Coalition to provide free counsel. The Neighborhood Defender Service was awarded a $1.4 million contract to provide legal services for those facing eviction.
But Texans outside Harris County will likely see a change. And even in Harris County, other protections have expired.
The emergency order required judges to discuss available rental assistance programs with landlords, confirm whether there were pending applications for rental assistance and abate the eviction proceeding for 60 days if there was one.
Now, requirements have disappeared for judges. Rental assistance programs, which distribute federal funds, still have stipulations for landlords. For example, the Houston-Harris County Eviction Intervention Program requires landlords to agree not to take any “enforcement mechanisms” if there is a rental assistance application, Karni explained. However, she said judges are not all requiring landlords to follow their terms and conditions.
What’s more, the HoustonHarris County Eviction Intervention Program is running low on funds. A spokesperson for the fund, Betsy Ballard, explained that the very limited funds were being used only for people with a notice to vacate or an eviction filing who were working with one of their partners, Lone Star Legal Aid, Houston Volunteer Lawyers or the Alliance. Renters can no longer apply directly.
While many protections and programs are winding down, Karni pointed out that one is here for the long term. The CARES Act requires any landlord that accepts federal funding — such as a federally backed mortgage or Section 8 vouchers — to give a 30day notice to vacate.
“Even if their lease says something different,” and many Texas leases say renters will only get a one-day notice to vacate, “they must provide at least a 30-day notice to vacate,” Karni said.