Some landlords got a piece of Texas’ $2 billion in rent relief money — and evicted their struggling tenants anyway
— alerted TDHCA this week that they have seen “alarming calls from constituents” whose rent relief money went to the wrong address, and called on the agency to fix the problem. Those constituents were told “they were unable to receive their eligible assistance” while the agency recouped the funds, the lawmakers wrote Thursday to TDHCA board Chair Leo Vasquez.
Some tenants who spoke to the Tribune about their cases said they called a hotline used to report fraud, waste and abuse in the state rent relief program and never heard back about their complaints. Then in December, the property owner filed an eviction case against Gates and gave her a notice to vacate.At a Jan. 10 eviction hearing, Gates said she told Williamson County Justice of the Peace KT Musselman she had been approved for rent relief and explained that the check went to the wrong address — facts she said the property manager, who represented the landlord in court, backed up.
“In our view, the judge made a mistake letting the trial proceed as soon as [the property manager] confirmed that the owner had a pending application for rental assistance,” Stamm said in an email. Stamm alleges that RDRH Holdings violated six requirements set out by the program in a contract landlords must sign in order to receive funds.
At the moment, Gates is bouncing back and forth between her father’s house and a friend’s while she appeals her eviction in an attempt to strike it from her record and make it easier for her to find a new place.“I was a good tenant,” Gates said. “You know, we just had the problems from [the pandemic] last year, which everybody did.”Both the federal and state government added enforcement provisions when they created the rent relief programs.
“TDHCA has taken very seriously the responsibility of helping Texas renters and landlords overcome the financial burden brought on by the pandemic,” Tirloni said. Johnson’s landlord — a partnership owned by Mark Musemeche, a Houston developer — had already accepted more than $4,200 in federal money in August to pay four months of rent, according to a copy of Johnson’s rent ledger she provided to the Tribune. Around that time, Johnson said she caught COVID-19 and had to miss a month of work.
Johnson’s trying not to dwell on the saga. She’s focused on finding a new place for her and her seven children to live. Her landlord gave her until the end of May to do so.
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