Abbott pledges $171Mfor rental aid, eviction diversion
Gov. Greg Abbott pledged $171 million in CARES Act funding toward rental assistance and an eviction diversion program.
The Friday news release gave no details about how the program would be administered or who qualified. Although Abbott also announced a new Texas Eviction Diversion Program, there were no details on how it would work. The court website promises more information to come but did not say when.
Abbott’s office has not responded to a request for comment on how the programs will work.
The $171 million will be split between $167 million for “targeted rental assistance” and $4.2 million distributed through the Texas Supreme Court to help legal aid.
“We don’t know much yet about how the rental assistance program will work, but at face value, it’s a much needed step in the right direction,” said Christina Rosales, deputy director at Texas Housers. “However, it won’t be nearly enough.”
Rosales pointed out that the city of San Antonio alone offered $55 million in rent relief. The latest round of city of Houston rental assistance came to $20 million; Harris County provided $25 million. Ideally, she said, the program will prioritize Texans with the lowest income — and compel participating landlords to waive all late fees.
The Texas Supreme Court issued a new order in conjunction with Abbott’s announcement, requiring all eviction citations to include information on the eviction diversion program.
The new order also requires justices of the peace to discuss the eviction diversion program with landlords and tenants who come before them. If both landlord and tenant are interested, the judge will abate the eviction for 60 days.
“The program utilizes a special court process to provide landlords and tenants an alternative to the eviction process,” Kristina Tirloni, spokesperson for the Texas Department o f Housing and Community Affairs, said in an emailed statement. “Lump-sum payments are provided to landlords for rental arrears in exchange for allowing tenants to remain in their homes and forgiving late fees.”