The stress of facing eviction can be overwhelming.
"So you don't know what you are going to walk into tomorrow,” Ashley Woody said who is facing an eviction hearing. “You don't know if you are going to walk into court and the judge says you have 24 hours to get out."
Woody is working, but fell behind on her rent.
"When we had the money to get caught up, my son passed away on January 10, 2021 unexpectedly,” Woody said. “19-years-old from a heart attack so, instead of being able to get caught up on our rent we had to make the decision to bury my son."
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Ian Mattingly is President of the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas. He said the eviction moratoriums, which have lasted nearly 14 months, have affected landlords also.
"Many of our owners, particularly those that have small rental communities or single-family homes that they rent out to supplement their income, have been stretched beyond their capacity to bear this burden,” Mattingly said.
Although the national moratorium is struck down the Department of Justice plans to appeal it. This means nationally it could be in limbo even longer.
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But the Texas Supreme Court emergency order already expired allowing Texas evictions to move forward.
"The Texas Justice Training Center has told us JP's is that their recommendation is that we proceed since we no longer have the authority from the Texas Supreme Court,” Dallas County Justice of the Peace Sasha Moreno said. “So, for the past few weeks, many judges and courts have been proceeding with evictions despite the moratorium."
As the uncertainty continues, Woody gives this advice.
"Even if you can't pay your rent at least call the landlord and let them know what's going on and circumstances and hopefully they'll work with you and you won't end up where I am," Woody said.
There are still millions of dollars available through the Texas Rent Relief Program. More details can be found here.
The Texas Eviction Diversion Program (TEDP) is a voluntary program that permits eligible landlords and tenants to agree upon a resolution to the issues raised in an eviction case. If eligibility requirements are met, past due rent obligations and utility delinquencies may be eligible to be covered in full and the eviction case dismissed. For more details click here.
