This blog post summarizes the new CDC eviction moratorium issued on August 3, 2021, as well as provides information on two resources in Texas to help people facing eviction.
Read moreTexas Eviction Resources for an Uncertain Time
On March 28, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended the order halting certain residential evictions through June 30, 2021. However, an emergency order from the Texas Supreme Court “that instructed judges across Texas how to follow the federal mandate expired March 31.” This blog post features resources for residents of Texas who are facing eviction.
Read moreStopTXEviction.org LiveChat Now Available
A few weeks ago, we featured on this blog a new service designed to help Texas renters stay in their homes during the pandemic. The service is a website called StopTXEviction.org.
Just yesterday, the Texas Legal Services Center informed the legal aid community that a LiveChat feature is now available on the website four days a week, Monday through Thursday, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Law students, volunteer lawyers, and paralegals are ready to answer your questions about renters’ rights in Texas, while providing options to those in need of legal assistance. To receive legal advice from an attorney, users must be at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.
When LiveChat is open, you will find the 'Chat now' icon displayed on the bottom right corner of the website. Here, before proceeding, you will be asked a few basic questions about household size, family income, and child support obligations, if any.
For additional information about services offered through this website, please read our blog post on the topic (in English and Spanish) or consult the StopTXEviction.org website directly.
Stop TX Eviction
Final Notice by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
Despite efforts to help renters remain in their homes during the pandemic, including a CDC moratorium, evictions continue throughout the state and country. Here, in Texas, there is some help. With generous support from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, Texas’s three main legal aid providers, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Lone Star Legal Aid, and Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, have teamed up with the Texas Legal Services Center to create StopTXEviction.org, a web portal designed to help renters living in Texas. Stop TX Eviction provides renters with access to information about the eviction process and their rights, rental assistance, and other resources, including documents that can be used in a court proceeding. Qualified renters can also use the portal to apply for legal assistance in their area and chat with a lawyer about any questions they might have about eviction.
To get help, simply click on the Get Started button. Users choose the topic about which they would like more information, including evictions in Texas, commercial evictions, and foreclosure. (Note that while Stop TX Eviction has information about commercial evictions and foreclosures, the portal is designed primarily for renters in Texas.) Subsequent pages take the user through the eviction process and explain the types of defenses that may be claimed, some steps that can be taken before the hearing, and some things that can be expected at the eviction hearing. The web portal also addresses what happens after the eviction hearing and discusses three options that tenants have after an unfavorable ruling in Justice Court.
Users can also learn about the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, a new program established by the Supreme Court of Texas to enable landlords and tenants to come to a resolution of nonpayment of rent issues and thus reduce the number of evictions. The program was begun in October in certain Texas counties, but will expand to all of Texas on November 9.
Desalojos continúan por todo el estado y país aunque hay esfuerzos para ayudar a los inquilinos que se queden en sus hogares durante la pandemia, incluyendo la moratoria de los CDC (CDC moratorium). Aquí en Texas existe ayuda. Con el generoso apoyo del Texas Access to Justice Foundation, los tres principales proveedores de asistencia legal en Texas – Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Lone Star Legal Aid, y Legal Aid of Northwest Texas – han colaborado con el Texas Legal Services Center para crear StopTXEviction.org. La cual es un portal web diseñado para ayudar a los inquilinos que viven en Texas. Stop TX Eviction ofrece a los inquilinos acceso a información sobre el proceso de desalojo y sus derechos, asistencia para el alquiler y otros recursos, incluyendo documentos que pueden entregar en un procedimiento judicial. Los inquilinos que califican también pueden usar el portal para solicitar asistencia legal en su área y para conversar con un abogado sobre cualquier pregunta que tienen sobre el desalojo.
Para recibir ayuda, simplemente haga clic en el botón que dice Empiece. Los usuarios eligen el tema sobre el que les gustaría obtener más información, incluyendo los desalojos en Texas, los desalojos comerciales y la ejecución hipotecaria. (Tenga en cuenta que Stop TX Eviction tiene información sobre desalojos comerciales y ejecuciones hipotecarias, pero el portal esta diseñado principalmente para inquilinos en Texas). Las paginas siguientes guían al usuario en el proceso de desalojo y explican los tipos de defensas que pueden reclamar, algunos pasos que pueden tomar antes de la audiencia, y que se puede esperar en la audiencia de desalojo. El portal web también da atención a lo que sucede después de la audiencia de desalojo y analiza tres opciones que tienen los inquilinos después de perder en el Tribunal de Justicia (Justice Court).
Los usuarios de este portal web pueden saber más sobre el Programa de Desvío de Desalojos (Texas Eviction Diversion Program), un nuevo programa establecido por la Corte Suprema de Texas (Supreme Court of Texas) para ayudar a los propietarios e inquilinos que lleguen a una resolución de los problemas por no pagar el alquiler y así reducir el numero de desalojos. El programa comenzó en octubre en ciertos condados de Texas, pero se expandirá a todo Texas el 9 de noviembre.
