Tenants’ rights are rarely granted with ease, but rather, they are fought for. That is true of most civil rights, historically. This past week, renters and advocates from across the state woke up as early as 4 a.m. to travel to Austin to speak before the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee regarding House Bill 32. This bill, filed by Rep. Angie Chen Button, in its initial proposal was said to tackle the issue of “squatting.” However, as the bill language was officially published, the text of this legislation casts a much larger net to broadly remove tenants’ rights for all lease-holding renters.
The bill, if passed as written, deprives tenants of a right to a hearing by shortening the eviction process and allowing for summary judgments in favor of the landlord, eliminates Notices to Vacate (NTV) in cases that are not for nonpayment of rent, allows landlords to “forum shop” by picking judges more likely to evict to hear their case, weakens notification requirements to inform tenants that they are in jeopardy, and makes access to legal aid nearly impossible due to financial constraints. In essence, this bill, as originally conceived, would dramatically reimagine the eviction process in Texas, working in favor of speed to remove a tenant over due process.
With the sweeping changes looming with this proposed legislation, it was imperative that Texas Housers work alongside community members who are directly affected by these changes to speak out. Texas Housers’ research director Ben Martin delivered a powerful testimony before the Judicary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee saying of the bill: “I’m not really worried about mom and pop landlords, what I’m worried about are the institutional investors owners… out of state, financialized Wall Street owners whose aim it is to squeeze every drop they can out of these units.”
But Texas Housers’ research director was not alone in his objections. Dozens of advocates from groups such as Disability Rights Texas, Houston Food Bank, Texas Network of Youth Services, United Ways of Texas, justices of the peace from numerous jurisdictions, legal aid attorneys, and many others came to speak on how this bill would harm the community members they serve. However, most powerful of all of those voices were the tenants themselves, who took the time from their busy schedules to show up and speak out about what this bill would do to them and their neighborhoods.
We were so proud of the community members who were able to travel and speak, and concluding the day, Rep. Chen Button shared that the various testimonies throughout the day had brought her to reevaluate how this bill works and she hopes that all sides can come to a compromise to make this legislation fair to all parties.
We will continue to monitor HB 32 and take every opportunity to ensure that tenants’ rights are protected in the state of Texas. But we would be at a major loss if not for the courage and hard work of tenants deciding to march forward and speak truth to power.
You can watch the full testimony here, starting at the 45:00 minute mark.
