Austin renters can continue to count on Eviction protections through March of next year, following the City Council’s decision to again extend the eviction moratorium.
That means landlords still won’t be able to issue notices of eviction for many renters, including those whose rent is $2475 a month or less. The order also protects tenants from having property seized due to nonpayment.
The decision is being praised by city leaders and housing advocates, pointing to the Corona Virus pandemic. The non-profit Family Eldercare’s Blake Smith told city council these eviction protections are needed, “we are facing a completely predictable and preventable wave of homelessness, and extending this moratorium will help mitigate this.”
However, Smith’s colleague at Eldercare, Brittany Baize and others are taking note that rents are piling up on households unable to pay believing the city needs to reach out for more financial aid, “we just can’t solve this issue locally. We must have the state and federal the support necessary to get sufficient rental assistance into our community, and extending the moratorium gives us the time to do that.”
Austin’s Mayor Steve Adler admits the extension is just holding off and building a rent backlog problem for after the protections end, “Obviously there’s a huge backside issue, to this, with people protected in their homes but have been accruing rent that is due. And we need to figure whats going to happen on the back side of that.”
Austin City Council first placed a moratorium on evictions late last March.
