Eviction bill now focuses on squatters in Texas House rewrite

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The Texas House on Saturday approved a legislative proposal intended to help landlords get rid of squatters on their property that critics initially worried would make it easier for landlords to evict all renters.

“I'm celebrating the fact that a significantly worse bill could have passed and didn't,” said Mark Melton, an attorney who leads the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center.

House members gave final approval to Senate Bill 38 by an 85-44 vote. The Senate must approve changes made to the bill before it can advance to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk.

The bill's backers said the legislation is meant to help property owners oust squatters who illegally occupy a property. Before a vote to preliminarily approve the bill Friday, House members agreed to strip a provision that tenants’ advocates warned could oust renters from their home without knowing their landlord filed for eviction or being able to fight the matter in court.

Under the change House members made Friday, the expedited eviction process could only be used in bona fide squatting cases. House members pared back some of the more controversial aspects amid pressure from housing advocates and concerns from some lawmakers.

SB 38 still makes moves to reduce the meager safety net Texas renters have had in the past, its opponents said. For one, the bill would effectively bar Abbott and the Texas Supreme Court from tweaking eviction proceedings during an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, when they required judges to pause those proceedings to allow tenants to tap emergency rental assistance.

SB 38 supporters say existing laws don’t adequately help landlords get rid of squatters. Landlord groups like the Texas Apartment Association told lawmakers they’ve had increased encounters with squatters. Cracking down on squatting is a top priority for the state’s top three Republican officials — Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows.

Chris Newton, who heads the Texas Apartment Association, hailed the bill’s passage as “a significant reform aimed at fixing the state’s civil eviction process to prevent unnecessary delay and unlawful occupation of property.”

“The bill seeks to protect both property owners and residents by creating a more efficient path to address clear cases of illegal squatting while maintaining existing renter protections,” Newton said in a statement.

The most crucial change came to a part of the bill that initially sought to give landlords ways to evict tenants without going to trial. Under the change House members made Friday, that process could only be used in bona fide squatting cases. Tenants would even get a slight reprieve if they miss a rent payment and had never done so before.

The bill still makes changes that chip away at tenants’ rights and grant them fewer protections in the future, housing advocates said. Under state law, landlords must give tenants written notice three days before they file for eviction. The bill would relax rules for how landlords may deliver that notice to tenants.

The bill also aims to allow a landlord to proceed with an eviction even if federal law would otherwise bar them from doing so, a provision tenants advocates and legal experts said is unconstitutional.

“There is no part of this bill that is good and no part of this bill is needed,” said Ben Martin, research director for Texas Housers, a research and advocacy group.

Disclosure: Texas Apartment Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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