Houston tenants are rising up

The pandemic has left hundreds of thousands unemployed and unable to pay for bills and utilities, including rent. Many renters risk being evicted – but people in Houston and other cities are leading the charge against this growing housing crisis.

Dozens of Houston tenants and housing activists protested in front of a Harris County eviction court on Friday, demanding that Judge Russ Ridgway clear his docket of eviction hearings and that evictions end citywide.

Hours into the protest, the group had grown to about 100. Protesters and organizers came from several Houston activist groups, including Houston Tenants Union, grassroots youth organization Age of Change, and Mutual Aid Houston. By nearly 2 p.m., nine of the 12 eviction hearings for the day had been dismissed, though these dismissals might have been a result of landlords filing motions for dismissal or tenants moving.

Houston landlords have legally filed more than 8,600 evictions in Houston since March 15, near the beginning of the pandemic. Last week more evictions were filed in Houston than in nine other major U.S. cities combined, according to Princeton University's Eviction Lab.

In response, the city’s Housing Stability Task Force has unanimously recommended an eviction grace period to allow Houstonians extra time to pay rent amid the pandemic fallout, but Mayor Sylvester Turner has argued that the city doesn’t need it (although in June he asked justices of the peace to postpone eviction hearings, which they declined to do). He’s said he’s concerned that a moratorium would increase a renter’s debt, or that Texas would sue (earlier this month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a nonbinding opinion saying that local governments can’t stop evictions).

“Mayor Sylvester Turner has denied protection for Houston tenants, and the relief funds were … just really insufficient for Houstonians,” Antonella, an organizer with Age of Change who asked that we only use her first name, told me.

Meanwhile, Mayor Turner is relying on landlords to “provide flexibility and compassion” for tenants. He’s also requiring that landlords cancel evictions if their tenants receive aid from the latest package. However, 24% of Houston evictions filed during the federal moratorium were illegal. Days ago, one Houston mother’s story of eviction went viral when, even after talking to her property managers after losing her job in March, she was hit with a notice on her door: “Guess who's moving? You!!!” illustrated with a waving emoji.

Antonella, whose organization donates food, water and toiletries to unhoused people weekly, said she and other protesters are working to build a culture of activism in Houston and demand resources from their city. Anna María, a co-founder with Mutual Aid Houston, worked to provide jail and bail support for the protest. She said organizers were inspired by a similar protest in New Orleans, and that the mutual aid group is looking into other ways to assist tenants, like through an eviction solidarity network.

“It’s a very overwhelming problem … a very small group of people has total power over [what happens with evictions],” Anna María told me. “There are local elections happening too. Electing candidates … that have the people's interests in mind would be refreshing.”