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North Texas could see ‘tidal wave’ of evictions as moratoriums start to run out

“We’re about to fall off a cliff here,” says a Dallas lawyer who works on eviction cases.

Unemployed and underemployed Dallas-Fort Worth residents aren’t just coping with a public health and economic crisis but also could soon face a “tidal wave” of evictions with little recourse, according to legal experts across Texas who are sounding an alarm.

“We’re about to fall off a cliff here,” said Mark Melton, a lawyer at Holland & Knight in Dallas.

Roughly 40% of North Texans pay monthly rent to a landlord or property management company in order to keep a roof over their heads — a routine process that’s grown increasingly difficult for people caught up in the pandemic’s economic fallout.

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And 1 in 4 renters consider themselves “housing insecure,” one of a handful of measures the U.S. Census Bureau is tracking through weekly surveys. That’s roughly 1.8 million North Texans who aren’t confident they can afford their rent.

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Evictions were halted on March 27 when President Donald Trump signed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act into law. The act imposed a 120-day moratorium on evictions from properties with federally backed mortgages. That ban ends Saturday.

The Texas Supreme Court issued its own statewide eviction moratorium, but that one was lifted on May 19. A Dallas County moratorium runs until Aug. 5.

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With government protections about to run out, tenant advocates warn that 28 million Americans could be at risk of eviction in coming months.

Along with the CARES Act’s protection against evictions, the extra $600 a week it provided in unemployment pay expires at the end of this month. Congress is debating new stimulus measures that could extend the benefit, but Melton worries that the extension won’t come soon enough.

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Dallas has one thing going for it that other Texas cities don’t, Melton said. The city enacted its own local ordinance requiring landlords to provide 60 days’ notice to tenants, and that allows them to come up with missed rent. The ordinance remains in effect as long as the city or state is under a disaster declaration.

“Without that city ordinance, there would be no protections against these evictions,” Melton said.

Even with local and federal protections, evictions have been taking place in Dallas and Tarrant counties, according to legal experts in Dallas and at Texas A&M University.

Cal Abbott prepares a salad for his Dallas catering company, Destination Catering and...
Cal Abbott prepares a salad for his Dallas catering company, Destination Catering and Events. Abbott's apartment complex took him to court over what he describes as a wrongful eviction.(Destination Catering and Events)

Evictions still happening

Cal Abbott, a 32-year-old Dallas caterer, is one of those facing eviction. He got notice June 29 after falling three months behind on rent at the Oasis Apartments on Forest Lane. Abbott said it was the first time he’d struggled to pay his rent. But he found himself trying to stretch $800 from his last invoice over three months.

Business for Abbott’s Destination Catering and Events started drying up in February. He employs about 15 independent contractors to serve, cook and bartend at gigs for companies and private events.

Weeks before the coronavirus pandemic prompted U.S. officials in places like Dallas to lock down economies and ban in-person gatherings, corporate America was already scaling back travel and directing employees to work remotely if possible.

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“We just didn’t account for how fast things could just go,” Abbott said. “All the parties and events went away.”

Abbott said he started applying for government assistance. He struggled with the state’s overwhelmed unemployment system in March, applying twice for benefits and being denied each time, he said.

Along with 16,000 others, Abbott also applied for Dallas’ COVID-19 rental assistance program at the start of May. The program crashed shortly after the launch on May 4, but his application was accepted. The program was expected to provide up to 1,000 households with as much as $1,500 per month for up to three months of rent, mortgage or utility payments.

Cal Abbott works an event for his Dallas catering company, Destination Catering and Events.
Cal Abbott works an event for his Dallas catering company, Destination Catering and Events.(Destination Catering and Events)

Abbott traded emails with the city of Dallas for two months to provide proof of his financial situation, but eventually stopped hearing from the city, he said. Abbott has yet to receive any aid and doesn’t know why. He said he never received a federal stimulus check.

Just about everything that could go wrong for Abbott did. After his initial court hearing, he found Melton’s information online and reached out.

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“I wasn’t prepared to have to leave my house,” he said.

With some cash loaned to him by family, Abbott filed an appeal with Melton’s help that’s given him additional time to repay the rent he owes. Melton contends that the move by Abbott’s complex to evict him violated CARES Act protections.

Oasis Apartments management did not respond to The Dallas Morning News’ request for comment.

“Most landlords are doing the right thing,” Melton said.

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According to Melton, evictions are being approved by justices of the peace, especially when tenants behind on their rent show up for court hearings without legal representation.

Mark Melton leads a lawyer training over Zoom for attorneys looking to help provide legal...
Mark Melton leads a lawyer training over Zoom for attorneys looking to help provide legal advice to Dallasites facing evictions. His group, Dallas Evictions 2020, has helped six tenants avoid wrongful evictions in the last several weeks, he said.(Destination Catering and Events)

In March, Melton began a pro bono legal advice group for Dallas residents with eviction questions. Melton estimates he’s given advice to 2,000 people via social media and email, including landlords, since he started the effort. He’s brought on 100 other lawyers who are assisting people at no charge.

Underemployed, on edge

Even those who’ve managed to find work can struggle to bring in enough money for rent. EneDina Rogers, 61, lost her job as a tax auditor in March. She’s been worried about eviction ever since.

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EneDina Rogers of Dallas is one of the many North Texans who are fearful of being evicted...
EneDina Rogers of Dallas is one of the many North Texans who are fearful of being evicted from their homes because of the pandemic's strain on the economy. (Lynda M. Gonzalez / Staff Photographer)

Like Abbott, Rogers applied for financial assistance from Dallas, expecting to secure three months of rent. But her many emails and calls were fruitless.

“I have a job, but it is temporary and I am struggling to pay rent for August,” said Rogers, who started as a receptionist this week. “[City of Dallas officials] have had my information since the beginning, and they just told me they ran out of funds.”

The Dallas housing nonprofit CitySquare helped Rogers pay rent for June and July. That assistance arrived later than the beginning of the month, so Rogers got eviction threats from her landlord.

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She’s unsure if she’ll get more assistance from CitySquare or if her temp job will be enough to cover rent.

“It is like every time I turn around rent is due again,” she said. “I have to wonder how I am going to make it for the next month.”

Southern Methodist University in Dallas has also been offering a free COVID-19 legal helpline, where around 24 law students and law professors provide information or refer people to organizations that can help with their cases.

“Evictions are among the main concerns for people,” said Mary Spector, an SMU law professor and associate dean of the college’s legal clinics. “They are a big piece of what we are doing.”

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SMU’s helpline has been directing people to Melton’s Dallas Evictions 2020 group for legal advice. The free helpline offers services in Spanish on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In the last 10 days, Dallas Evictions 2020 has represented six tenants in eviction hearings. All the eviction actions have been dismissed for failing to meet the legal standards for eviction, Melton said.

Waiting for relief

There’s no longer a lockdown order in place in Dallas, but because of the pandemic Abbott’s catering business is receiving only a few low-paying contracts for small get-togethers.

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“At this point, I’m just taking it one day at a time,” he said.

Melton said he fears a “nonsensical scenario” with “tens of thousands of homeless people and tens of thousands of empty housing units.”

“And I feel for the landlords, too,” he said, knowing apartment owners can’t survive without collecting rent.

The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance is hoping government action will alleviate what could become a major housing crisis, said CEO Carl Falconer.

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“I think some of it will depend on what the Senate does and whether they are able to offer some rental assistance or rent relief for organizations and individual tenants,” he said. “Maybe another stimulus check.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, the National Multifamily Housing Council supported the eviction moratorium. The group that represents apartment owners and managers now wants any new stimulus program to include rental assistance.

“[Members of Congress] are talking about millions of dollars when we should be talking about billions of dollars in rental support,” said Paula Cino, the council’s vice president of construction, development and land use policy. “The real solution is a substantial federal investment in housing support, and that would prevent the renter from ever missing a payment and [getting] to a place where they risk eviction.”

An eviction moratorium doesn’t fix renters’ finances, and it places a burden on property management, she said.

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“We’re very concerned that there is a potential domino effect here,” Cino said. “But we are not there yet. We do not have to let a public health crisis become a housing crisis.”

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Key dates & resources

July 24: The CARES Act’s temporary eviction moratorium ends.

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July 24: The Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) begins to accept pre-screening applications again.

Aug. 5: Dallas County’s eviction moratorium ends.

Aug. 10: Texas’ disaster declaration would need to be renewed for Dallas residents to continue to be covered by the city’s eviction ban.

Aug. 20: The Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) closes the pre-screening application process at 4 p.m.

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What can I do if I am facing eviction?

(City of Dallas)

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