Evictions
Justice of the Peace 4-1
Grand Prairie Courthouse – 106 West Church Street, Suite 205, Grand Prairie, TX 75050
(214) 751-4040 Main • (214) 751-4050 Fax
Office E-mail: JP41Court@dallascounty.org
Hours of Operation: 8:00am - 4:00pm, Monday - Friday
Se Habla Español
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Part V Rules of Practice in Justice Court
Texas Rules of Evidence
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 15, Subchapter (E) - Venue - Suits Brought in Justice Court
In an effort to reduce the number of evictions of tenants and to ensure landlords are paid rent that is due, the Supreme Court and OCA have partnered with the Governor’s Office and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to establish the Texas Eviction Diversion Program (TEDP). Announced by the Governor last fall and ordered by the Supreme Court in the 31st Emergency Order, the voluntary program is to be offered to landlords and tenants in pilot counties selected by OCA beginning October 12 or when additional pilot counties are identified. Your county has been selected as one of the pilot counties beginning 1/19 (some of you are already operating as pilots but you are being included here for updates which may impact your program). The program will go statewide later this spring with additional funds being allocated by the state.
Because your county is designated as one of the pilot counties, funding for rental assistance and eviction diversion has been allocated to certain community agencies to distribute to eligible landlord/tenants and can cover past due rent (from April 2020 to present) and some months of future rent. Landlords must agree to waive late payment fees and their previous claims (both for non-payment of rent or others), and the funding will be direct deposited to the landlord. Tenants must meet income eligibility requirements (at or below 200% of poverty or 80% of Area Median Income) and be financially affected by COVID-19. See the eligibility requirements and documents needed below.
LANDLORD / UNIT | TENANT / HOUSEHOLD |
Eligibility Requirements:
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Documents Needed:
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Landlord Will Be Required to Certify that Landlord:
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Simplified, the court process steps are as follows:
1. Landlords must review the information on the program at www.txcourts.gov/eviction-diversion and state in their petition for eviction that they have done so.
2. The citation in eviction proceedings must have attached to it a TEDP brochure and contain the language in English and Spanish:
If you and your landlord agree to participate in the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, you may be able to have up to 6 months of the rent you owe paid and stop your eviction. At your trial, the court will notify you about the Program and ask if you are interested in participating. Find out more about the Program in the attached brochure, titled State of Texas Eviction Diversion Program, and at www.txcourts.gov/eviction-diversion/; and at https://texaslawhelp.org/article/texas-eviction-diversion-program. You may also call Texas Legal Services Center for assistance at 855-270-7655.
Si usted y el propietario están de acuerdo en participar en el Programa de Desvío de Desalojo del Estado de Texas, podrá ser elegible para recibir asistencia de hasta seis meses de pagos vencidos de su alquiler y detener su desalojo. En su audiencia de desalojo, el juez le dará información sobre este programa y le preguntará si desea participar en él. Encontrará más información sobre el programa en el folleto adjunto titulado Programa de Desvío de Desalojo del Estado de Texas. Puede visitar los siguientes enlaces para más información www.txcourts.gov/eviction-diversion o https://texaslawhelp.org/article/texas-eviction-diversion-program , o llamar al Centro de Servicios Legales de Texas (en inglés, Texas Legal Services Center) por teléfono al 855-270-7655.”3. On the trial date and at the beginning of the eviction trial, you must discuss with the landlord and tenant the TEDP and inquire whether the landlord and tenant are interested in participating in the program.
4. If both the landlord and tenant express an interest in participating in the TEDP, you must abate/ suspend the eviction proceeding for 60 days, make all of the information and records of the eviction action confidential to prohibit disclosure to the public, and inform the parties of the reinstatement and dismissal procedures in #5 below. You should also refer them to the community agency listed below for your county for the application process to continue.
5. If something falls through on the TEDP and the landlord wants to proceed with the eviction, the landlord may file a motion with the Court within the 60-day abatement period and serve a copy on the tenant. If you receive a motion, you must sign an order (and serve it on the parties) reinstating the case, setting the case for trial as soon as practicable but no later than 21 days after the date of the order, stating the procedures for the action to proceed, and making the information and records of the case non-confidential to allow disclosure again to the public.
6. If you do not receive a motion to reinstate the case within the 60-day abatement period, you must dismiss the eviction case with prejudice, including any claims that do not involve the nonpayment of rent. All court information and records must stay confidential and not available for disclosure to the public.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FORMS
Motions for Continuance must be filed at least 48 hours before trial. Motion can be submitted via mail or emailed to the court at JP41Court@dallascounty.org
The CARES Act (coronavirus stimulus bill) contained provisions halting many evictions for tenants in properties covered by a federally-backed mortgage for 120 days from its enactment (from March 27 until August 24).
The bill provides a temporary moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent for most residents of federally subsidized apartments, including those supported by HUD, USDA or Treasury (Low Income Housing Tax Credit developments). The bill also institutes a moratorium on filings for evictions for renters in homes covered by federally-backed mortgages for the same period. To ensure that the court isn’t evicting a tenant in violation of this Act, The Housing Verification form is available for plaintiffs to fill out before receiving a judgment, swearing that their property is not subject to this moratorium. Landlords can go to the TDCHA website here and click on "HTC Property Inventory (XLSX)" under Additional Guidance and Resources to search a database to determine if their property is subject to the LIHTC restrictions, and can go to this website to check their property against a multi-family housing database.
LINKS