Evictions suspended in Austin-Travis County through December

AUSTIN, Texas - Evictions in Austin and Travis County have been suspended through the end of the year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler signed an updated order Wednesday which extended and updated the restrictions related to eviction notices through December 31. The city says this is the same expiration date as for the CDC order about residential evictions.

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Evictions in Austin and Travis County have been suspended through the end of the year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Austin order prohibits issuing notices to vacate to:

residential tenants who fail to pay rent and the amount is $2,475 or less per month
residential tenants who fail to pay rent and have provided the landlord with a CDC declaration
commercial tenants who operate a childcare business, live music venue, arts venue, or restaurant/bar

However, a landlord may issue a notice to vacate if the actions of the tenant, their household members, customers, employees or guest pose an "imminent threat" of:

physical harm to the property owner or their employees, or other tenants, including within the household
criminal activity
property damage that interferes with the use of a dwelling occupied by other tenants

Notices can also be issued if an insured casualty loss such as fire, smoke, hail, explosion, or a similar cause makes the property totally unusable.

The order also prohibits property owners from removing tenants' property or excluding them and prohibits the seizure of a tenant's nonexempt property subject to liens. Violating the order is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000.

Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe signed a similar order for the county on Wednesday, suspending eviction notices through December 31 for:

residential tenants who fail to pay rent and the amount is $2,475 or less per month
residential tenants who fail to pay rent and have provided the landlord with a CDC declaration and are included as part of the Justices of the Peace Standing Order

The Justices of the Peace Standing Order says that after September 30, trials in residential eviction cases are automatically abated until December 31 if the grounds for eviction are solely because of non-payment of rent and the tenant's monthly payment is $2,475 or less.

READ THE FULL TRAVIS COUNTY ORDER BELOW

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