Dallas Evictions 2020

08/09/2021

“Prior to the pandemic, eviction moratoria were only used in response to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and threats like the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and they were very short-term, one to two weeks,” Emily Benfer, an Equal Justice Works fellowship says. “This is the first time housing has been part of a public health response on such a widespread scale. It’s critical to memorialize that and capture the effects.”

Emily Benfer has spent most of her career “trying to move further upstream in the problem intervention.” Photo courtesy of Emily Benfer

05/21/2021

Constant communications between landlord & tenant is pivotal to avoid eviction proceedings. After two months of back-and-forth exchanges, handholding, and negotiations, the tenant was finally approved for nearly $20,000 in rent and utility assistance through Texas Rent Relief.

05/12/2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families. FEMA can help people before, during and after disasters by helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the virus.

Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19 related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020.

05/12/2021

Today we negotiated and entered into an Agreed Motion to Dismiss on an appeal to the County Court. After 6 weeks, the Tenant was approved for funds from the Texas Rent Relief program. The Landlord received back rent and 3-months of rent credit. The parties agreed that the Tenant would receive the appeal bond back from the Court's registry.

That's a Win in our books.

05/10/2021

“Eviction can happen to any tenant, but has a disproportionate impact on women and people of color due to lower wages and discriminatory lending practices which have denied equal opportunity for homeownership,” says executive director Sandy Rolins of Texas Tenants’ Union. “It doesn’t matter if the case is dismissed, if the case is filed in retaliation for a tenant standing up for their rights, if the case was brought against a residential tenant after foreclosure, or if the case is filed for no reason other than the tenant “holding over” because they were unable to move out on time. Tenants should not be harmed in these situations.”

Despite a CDC moratorium on evictions, some Texas judges kept allowing them. Housing advocates worry about the long-lasting impacts of the decisions on the most vulnerable.

04/28/2021

“Without representation, the majority of tenants lose their cases and ultimately are evicted,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. A review of data from over 20 cities and states found that about 81% of landlords had attorneys while only 3% of tenants did, according to the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.

DALLAS (AP) — Not long after he began posting advice last year for people facing eviction during the pandemic, Mark Melton found himself inundated with phone calls and messages. “It became apparent really quickly that this was going to be too much of a job for one person,” said Melton, a Dalla...

04/22/2021

The DAYL 2020 Leadership Class is excited to announce its class project - “DEAR – Dallas Eviction Assistance and Resources.” DEAR is a community outreach initiative aimed at educating and assisting individuals faced with evictions, including those that are at risk of eviction because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more, visit http://www.dayl.com/evictions

04/22/2021

Tenants are not completing their applications for TX Rental Relief. Do not ignore emails. Do not ignore deadlines.

04/02/2021

Justices of the Peace can no longer postpone cases. Landlords can face civil or criminal penalties if they violate these federal guidelines. And judges still encourage landlords and tenants to use the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, which, after approval, pays current and back-payments of rent directly to the landlord.

The Texas Supreme Court has recently removed some steps, making it easier for landlords to evict tenants, but help is still available for those in need.

03/30/2021

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday moved to continue the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday. The moratorium is now extended through the end of June.

The federal moratorium on evictions had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday.

03/22/2021

As of 3/21/2021, there is $760,093,834 available in rent and utility bill assistance still available through TexasRentRelief.com. That's a 25% decrease in the past 2 weeks, which means that applications are being processed and it's FAST.