eviction

Four corporate landlords, including Dallas-based Invitation Homes, tried to evict thousands of tenants during a federal ban on evictions, according to an investigation by a congressional subcommittee.

The Dallas County Constable’s office and its partners will host an eviction clinic Saturday, April 23 to help inform tenants and landlords about the eviction process, and help them access resources.

Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin all ranked among the top 10 cities for new eviction filings in early April, among the 31 cities tracked by Eviction Lab.

It’s unclear whether landlords face any penalties from state agencies for improperly evicting tenants while receiving rent relief dollars intended to help those tenants stay housed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evictions in major Texas cities have reached levels not seen since the pandemic began. But tenant protections and financial assistance for struggling renters are beginning to fade.

The Texas Rent Relief Program will shut down its application portal at 5 p.m. on Friday. Some local governments still have money for rent help, but those funds may soon run out, as well.

More than 165,000 Texans have been helped by the state’s $1.9 billion rental assistance program that launched during the pandemic, but people have “slipped through the cracks,” advocates say.

Congress approved $47 billion to pay back rent and prevent evictions. But after nearly 10 months, the vast majority of that money has not reached the millions of people who desperately need it.

There’s $1 billion in rental assistance available to struggling Texas tenants. But for many renters, getting the help they need depends on where they live.

In the first phase of funding from the federal government for emergency rental assistance, Texas received about $2 billion. Now the state has to get those funds in the hands of Texans.

The extension comes as the federal moratorium on evictions is set to expire on July 31.

A federal freeze on most evictions that was enacted last year is scheduled to expire July 31, after the Biden administration extended the date by a month.