A bill intended to make it easier to remove squatters from a home has made its way to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
At the start of the session, some of the most powerful leaders in the state, including Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, said they wanted lawmakers to pass an anti-squatter bill.
But Senate Bill 38 originally proposed significantly changing the eviction process for renters, not just squatters.
Lawmakers in the House made substantial edits to the bill when they removed some sections that tenant advocates warned would have made it easier for landlords to evict renters and squatters. A squatter illegally enters a home and stays, while a renter typically signs a lease and faces eviction when they violate it.
“It’s worth celebrating that the worst harms of this bill were eliminated,” said Ben Martin, research director for Texas Housers, a nonprofit that educates low-income tenants.
That includes a provision, called summary disposition, that would have made it possible for judges to finalize an eviction without a hearing. Opponents worried this would lock renters out of their own legal proceedings.
“Due process is a constitutional right. You can’t change that,” Mark Melton, a lawyer who founded the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, argued in front of lawmakers in March.
Legislators took these criticisms to heart. Once SB 38 made it to the House, lawmakers excised some of the most controversial portions, including summary disposition. They limited this provision only to squatters, or people who never had a legal right to enter a house.
Tenant advocates celebrated this revision.
“The bill will no longer lead to the evictions of renters with no trial or hearing or opportunity to present their side of the case in front of a judge,” Martin said.
House legislators also added several lines to the bill requiring landlords to give tenants behind on rent a chance to pay up before starting the eviction process. But the bill does not lay out a specific timeline, so landlords could potentially give tenants just one day to pay a missed bill.
That being said, there were still portions of this bill that renter advocates warned would make the state’s eviction process lean even more in favor of landlords. That includes a section that appears to override guidelines for evictions on properties that receive federal funding.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt told KUT News fellow Republican, state Rep. Richard Hayes, worked with tenant advocates and the state’s landlord lobby to make some of these changes. Hayes did not respond to an interview request Friday.
“SB 38 is a significant reform aimed at fixing the state’s civil eviction process to prevent unnecessary delay and unlawful occupation of property,” said Chris Newton, executive vice president of the Texas Apartment Association, in a statement.
The governor has until June 22 to sign the bill into law. If he does not sign or veto a bill by that date, it automatically becomes law.
