Texas Supreme Court Allows Evictions to Resume This Week

The Texas Supreme Court’s statewide ban on evictions has expired, but there are still protections for certain renters — in some cases, for weeks to come. 

Marissa Latta, an attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid said based on court records available online, they haven’t seen a rush of filings — not even since the statewide order expired on Tuesday. They are permitted to proceed, but they didn’t prohibit local Justice of the Peace from doing anything more specific. There’s nothing in there that says, evictions have to start up. 

Mayor Steve Adler stopped landlords from beginning the eviction process until July 25, with a ban on issuing “notices to vacate.” Plus, Austin City Council passed an emergency ordinance creating a 60-day “grace period” after rent is due, to allow renters to come up with the funds to pay rent or set up a payment plan before being evicted. That lasts until August 24. 

Latta said we could see a spike in eviction filings at the end of the summer or in early fall, as these protections expire.

“Potentially as the rental assistance that is now available dries up, or as the additional unemployment benefits that people are now able to collect, or their stimulus checks, are unable to cover all of the expenses people are incurring, as time goes on,” she said.

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