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City of Austin shares requirements for issuing notices to vacate
Austin's overall eviction moratorium doesn't end until August 1. Most tenants are covered until then.
AUSTIN, Texas - June 1 was a looming deadline that many tenants were dreading. As of that day, landlords can start the eviction process, but only for certain tenants.
"If you're more than five months behind on rent, an eviction could be filed, but I actually am making sure that never happens," said Austin City Council member Greg Casar.
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Casar said he is educating landlords and tenants about the legal process.
"If you live in Austin or Travis County, you still cannot evict unless you are more than five months behind, and if you're more than five months behind, your landlord needs to be applying for help, you need to be applying for help," he said.
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City officials announce updated RENT Assistance Program for 2021
The program will provide $25 million of rental assistance to income-eligible Austin renters who are financially impacted by COVID-19.
There are three ways tenants and landlords can apply for help: Texas rent relief, the Austin R.E.N.T. program, and also Travis County's program. The key point here is that the landlord must apply for help before they can evict.
"What we actually are requiring is for landlords to apply for help with the state, the county, and the city," said Casar.
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Clara Pelayo has been helping her tenants with applications for these programs.
"The most popular one right now is Texas Rent Relief and out of the $1.7 billion, they have only 12 percent has been paid out to date. We are asking residents to come in. We will help them apply online ourselves," said Pelayo, regional director at Presidium and a member of The Austin Apartment Association.
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Travis County working through rent assistance applications
County leaders say they hope to start distributing payments in June just one week before landlords can start back up on the eviction process.
She doesn't want tenants to be afraid to come and talk with their landlords. Communication at this time is key. "The last thing we want is to put anyone out or file for eviction. We're here to help, I can't stress that enough," said Pelayo.
Austin's overall eviction moratorium doesn't end until August 1. Most tenants are covered until then. At that point, Casar said the rules may be revised.
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