Houstonians who rent often have questions about their rights when it comes to dealing with their landlords. Around 50% of Houston residents are renters, and disputes can arise when landlords make decisions that affect tenants’ living situations.

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Hundreds of renters have been displaced for failing to pay rent amid the global crisis, despite the federal ban, ProPublica reports. According to ProPublica, a review of records shows landlords in Texas still move forward to evict tenants from their properties, violating the eviction ban passed by Congress in March. The CARES Act prohibits landlords from filing evictions for nonpayment of rent during the pandemic. The CARES act also prohibits landlords from charging tenants additional fees, but most of the eviction filings reviewed by ProPublica show that landlords sought late fees and legal costs from their tenants. ProPublica found Texas is one of at least four where landlords are disobeying the law and still move forward to evict tenants from their properties.

As many are facing financial hardships as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, paying rent has been a great concern for tenants and landlords around Houston. If tenants have been laid-off or furloughed, it becomes a challenge to pay rent on time, in full, or even at all. If tenants don’t pay rent, landlords might be unable to pay mortgages, and so on. We do not make tons of money off our rent houses," a KPRC 2 viewer wrote to us on Facebook. Other renters in Houston are expected to pay rent as normal, regardless of the unnormal circumstance.