UPDATED: The United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on August 26, 2021, striking down the CDC eviction moratorium referenced below.
This blog post summarizes the new CDC eviction moratorium issued on August 3, 2021, as well as provides information on two resources in Texas to help people facing eviction.
Federal CDC Eviction Moratorium Order on August 3, 2021
The new CDC eviction moratorium order, which is currently in effect until October 3, 2021, is more limited in scope than previous orders as it only “applies in U.S. counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2 as defined by CDC, as of August 3, 2021. If a U.S. county that is not covered by this Order as of August 3, 2021 later experiences substantial or high levels of community transmission while this Order is in effect, then that county will become subject to this Order as of the date the county begins experiencing substantial or high levels of community transmission.”
The CDC offers the following definitions in relation to the above:
Substantial: “Counties experiencing substantial transmission levels are experiencing (I) 50.99-99.99 new cases in the county in the past 7 days divided by the population in the county multiplied by 100,000; and (2) 8.00-9.99% positive nucleic acid amplification tests in the past 7 days (number of positive tests in the county during the past 7 days divided by the total number of tests performed in the county during the past 7 days).”
High: “High transmission levels [are defined as] (I) ≥ 100 new cases in the county in the past 7 days divided by the population in the county multiplied by 100,000; and (2) ≥ 10.00% positive nucleic acid amplification tests in the past 7 days (number of positive tests in the county during the past 7 days divided by the total number of tests performed in the county during the past 7 days).”
To assist with the determination of “substantial” or “high” for a given county, the CDC has created a webpage called, “COVID-19 Integrated County View.” This interface allows users to enter their state and county to determine the level of community transmission in that county; the options are low, moderate, substantial, and high.
Further, the CDC order provides an extensive definition of “covered person,” which sets forth additional applicability requirements.
Texas Eviction Resources
Texas currently has the following two programs/resources in place to help eligible people facing eviction:
Stop TX Eviction: Stop TX Eviction is a collaboration between the three main legal aid providers in Texas (Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Lone Star Legal Aid, and Legal Aid of Northwest Texas) and the state legal aid support center, Texas Legal Services Center, with generous funding from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. It provides free information and resources, including documents and assistance getting legal help. Visit the website for more information and to apply: https://stoptxeviction.org/. The website is also available in Spanish.
Texas Eviction Diversion Program: On July 19, 2021, the Texas Supreme Court issued Emergency Order 39, which “[r]enews the Texas Eviction Diversion Program for tenants and landlords under a statewide rental assistance program intended to avoid evictions for tenants behind on rent.” More information about the Texas Eviction Diversion Program is available here: https://www.txcourts.gov/programs-services/eviction-diversion-program/. In addition, information about and an online application for rental assistance is available at the Texas Coronavirus Relief Bill Rental Assistance Program website.