Texas Rep. pushes legislation to protect tenants from financial hardship in state of emergency

Thursday, July 30, 2020
Texas Rep. pushes bill to protect tenants from financial hardship
If this new legislation gets approved, it could save a lot of tenants from financial hardship.

A Texas House Representative is pushing for legislation that will protect tenants from facing financial hardship during natural disasters or any sort of state of emergency.

As financial circumstances for many continue to worsen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of evictions continue to grow, and Rep. Ron Reynolds is trying to alleviate the issue.

During this period, such as the current pandemic, evictions would be illegal.

SEE RELATED STORY: Man faced eviction 2 months after getting approved for rental assistance

"So if a person fell behind on their rent, due to no fault of their own, simply just because of a natural disaster or an act of God, something beyond their control and they lost their ability to pay their rent because of it, this would provide protections," said Reynolds.

Rep. Reynolds said he and others in his caucus have asked the governor's office for special provisions to call for a special session so that they are able to push this legislation through, sooner than later.

SEE RELATED STORY: Harris County rental relief program leaves out large chunks of the county

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