In response to the coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the world, a number of Texas governmental entities have suspended eviction actions for delinquent payment. The Texas Supreme Court has suspended evictions through April 19. Dallas County has suspended evictions through May 18. And Tarrant County has suspended evictions indefinitely.
For both tenants and landlords, two things are clear. First, evictions are temporarily suspended. And second, payment obligations (absent some other agreement between the parties) are not suspended. This will lead to several interesting questions when landlord and tenant disputes inevitably return to court. Can the landlord charge late fees and interest for missed payments when evictions were halted? Can a landlord apply your security deposit to missed payments? When an eviction ultimately occurs, will that inevitably lead to a judgment against the tenant for months of rent? The answer to all of these (of course, depending on the terms of the lease), is likely yes, without some further governmental action.
But what can you do now to ease the pain of the inevitable wave of landlord-tenant disputes? There are several things to consider:
Reach out to at-risk tenants or to your landlord if you see payment issues on the horizon; you can try to negotiate revised payment terms (perhaps you can agree to delay your payment due date to the middle or the end of the month, or you can agree to spread a missed payment across the remainder of the lease) that can alleviate the issue;
If you can make a payment, do it. Even if your landlord cannot evict you, failing to pay your rent only risks exposure to late fees, interest, and an eviction lawsuit months later; and
Don’t make rash decisions. There will be a number of options available to both small businesses and individuals, whether they be loans or immediate payments (or even delayed mortgage payments), that will help both landlords and tenants deal with COVID-19 related issues. Think through your options, try to work together, and come to the best solution possible during this difficult time.
