What is the Federal Eviction Moratorium?
The moratorium order was put into place as a way to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 during the year 2020. It is accredited with preventing the eviction of almost 2 million people from their homes as the economy and market crashed. There are plenty of mixed feelings when it comes to the moratorium, the main debate happening between the different experiences taking place between the tenants and the landlords. On one hand, the moratorium is a saving grace preventing further stress during difficult times. In the other, the moratorium is adding on to stressful situations. Tenants are grateful for the protection from evictions, but landlords are losing money as they are not able to collect money from their properties in which they continue to pay taxes, in addition to fees.
How has this taken effect in Texas?
Texas, like all other states, had to find a way in order to input the moratorium. However, by the time March 2020 came around, judges had already been reported inconsistent when applying the moratorium. Because of this, the moratorium has been seen as a limited aide in the eyes of tenants. Texas courts have been known to ignore the order, therefore, allowing landlords to move forward with evictions. In addition, courts have failed in providing information, concerning the moratorium, to the tenants while others are fully aware of the moratorium.
What is Texas doing to alleviate the future complications with the expiration of the Order?
Texas has put into act several programs, the Texas Eviction Diversion Program and the Texas Rent Relief Program:
Texas Eviction Diversion Program – This program enables tenants to delay eviction proceedings up to 60 days if both the tenant and the landlord agree to participate. In favor of the tenant, any eviction can be erased from public records if the application is approved. The landlord benefits due to the fact that they receive payment for any unpaid rent.
The Texas Eviction Diversion Program has not been entirely favored by tenants. This is due to the fact that landlords, despite the approving of aid from the program, could reinstate eviction anytime during the 60 days. In the end, landlords continued to evict tenants even if they knew the tenant had been approved for assistance through the program.
Texas Rent Relief Program – This program was in response to Texas receiving about $2 billion in aid meant to be distributed into the hands of the people. With the Texas Relief Rent Program, tenants are able to apply for rental and utility assistance for up to 15 months. The requirements for this program include:
- Household income must be below the 80% of the median income within the area they reside or if they are receiving government public assistance.
- The tenant must authenticate that they are at risk of losing housing.
- If assistance is not not provided, the tenant must move out.
- If funds are provided, the tenant is allowed to apply every three months.
Does the Texas Rent Relief Program work?
Despite the rather large amount of federal aid Texas has received (about $2 billion) and programs such as the Texas Relief Rent Program, things are still not going as planned for tenants in danger of eviction. For example, despite applying for the program in March, and receiving approval by June. Funds have been absent from appearing in either the tenants nor the landlords accounts. With such a slow process, the aid provided by the program is essentially obsolete.
How has the Federal Eviction Moratorium affected the homeless population in Austin?
The homeless population in Austin (including sheltered and unsheltered) has been on a constant rise for the past decade. As calculated by ECHO, the homeless population in 2019 was 2,225 with 1,169 sheltered and 1086 unsheltered and in 2020 the homeless population increased to 2,506 with 952 sheltered and 1,574 unsheltered. This came out to be about an 11% increase within one year. However, the 2021 statistics, as collected by ECHO, provide that there was the slightest decrease with the homeless population falling at 2,180 both sheltered and unsheltered. It is predicted by ECHO that the extra shelter space created, coupled with the moratorium led to the slight decrease in which we see.
What has the State been doing in order to fix the increasing homeless population?
Not too recently, the Austin Proposition B had been passed which made it a criminal offense for anyone to sit, lie down, or camp in public areas designated by the government. With this in mind, Austin had reinstated the camping ban, while simultaneously trying to provide temporary shelter for those who identify as unsheltered. The proposition, in itself, negates the effort of providing shelter due to the fact that people will focus less on searching for housing, and worry about possible fines in which they cannot afford as explained by ECHO. In addition, with the moratorium having expired on July 31, 2021, we may see an increase in homelessness along with an increase in criminal offenses due to Austin’s proposition B.
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