TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Judge Nick Chu, Travis County Justice of the Peace for Precinct 5, announced Wednesday that eviction protections for renters in Travis County were extended due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chu's order extends the eviction protections through March 1, 2022. The order will require trials regarding evictions for unpaid rent to be paused for 30 days so renters can seek rental assistance, consult a pro bono attorney through a justice of the peace court program set up for indigent tenants and negotiate a settlement without the need for an eviction.
“Judges are required to follow the law, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a heart to try to help people,” Chu said in a release. “With the rise of the omicron variant, the courts are doing everything we can to prevent a public health crisis from spiraling into a housing and economic crisis as well.”
The latest order is the 18th order providing eviction protections since Chu issued the state's first eviction protection order on March 13, 2020.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: