February 19, 2021, 6:57 AM)
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner at a press conference announcing additional rent relief funding in July 2020.
Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously passed an eviction “grace period” ordinance for the first time during the pandemic, similar to measures that have been in place in cities like Austin and Dallas for nearly a year.
More than 24,000 eviction cases have been filed in the Houston area since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to just over 850 cases in the Austin area, according to the Eviction Lab.
The city ordinance is set to expire on March 31 and is intended to give some renters impacted by the pandemic more time to catch up on rent and apply for the city of Houston and Harris County’s new $159 million rent relief program.