The Texas state court system is allowing evictions to resume as the state winds down a series of directives it put in place last year at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Texas Supreme Court at the end of March did not extend an order that placed an indefinite moratorium on evictions. The court noted on its website that, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended its moratorium through the end of June, the state has no plans to do the same. The CDC order has been extended three times since the Trump administration put it in place last September.
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The Texas Justice Court Training Center, however, issued new guidance at the beginning of April telling Texas justice of the peace courts to warn landlords that go through with evictions that they may face federal penalties as long as the CDC order is in place. But the new guidance states that the CDC order does not directly instruct courts to enforce the moratorium. Instead, it said, the federal guidance advises landlords not to evict people covered by the terms of the moratorium.
“It also provides civil and criminal penalties for landlords who violate the moratorium, but that is a matter between the tenant, the landlord, and potentially a federal prosecutor,” the order said.
The state court’s decision to let its own orders lapse has some prosecutors worried that Texas will see a dramatic uptick in evictions.
“I’m very concerned that we’re going to see thousands of people across the state of Texas become homeless as a result of this,” Mark Melton, a Dallas attorney working pro bono with renters, told NBC after the Texas order expired.
Some landlord groups have also been confused by the order. David Mintz, vice president of government affairs with the Texas Apartment Association, told NPR he contacted the Texas Justice Court Training Center for clarification on how landlords should proceed.
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“We believe that the courts do have the ability to consider CDC declarations that are provided to them,” Mintz said.
Housing groups throughout the state are calling on the court to reinstitute the order as many renters struggle to catch up on their payments.
