Opportunity to Cure Late Rent

Opportunity to Cure Late Rent

This is the next lesson in our Expanding Tenants’ Rights series, which explores options for legal changes that would benefit tenants and tenant organizers.

Lesson Objectives

01

Learners will understand the concept of the opportunity to cure late rent.

Learners will understand the current situation of this right in Texas and the possible forms this right could take.

02

03

Learners will be able to connect these rights to their organizing.

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Opportunity to Cure Late Rent

• Almost all evictions are due to the tenant violating the lease in some way – most often, an inability to pay rent
• If a tenant is being evicted because they owe their landlord money, it’s only reasonable that the eviction should be called off if the tenant is able to pay the rent that they owe
• The opportunity to cure late rent ensures exactly this: that the tenant has a specified amount of time to remedy their rent violation before being evicted

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Opportunity to Cure Late Rent

The current state of this right in Texas:

• In Texas, landlords are not required to give tenants an opportunity to cure any nonpayment of rent
• Landlords only have to give a 3-day notice to vacate, and even that time is subject to change in the lease
• Rent repayment in that time is not a guarantee that the tenant will not be evicted; in some cases, this leads to situations where the tenant is able to get the payment together, the landlord accepts the payment, and the landlord still chooses to evict the tenant

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Opportunity to Cure Late Rent

Possible Changes Based on Example Laws:

• Texas is one of only seven states that does not guarantee an opportunity to cure late rent
• While the time period required for these repayments varies greatly between states – from 2 days to 30 days – almost 90% of the country has some form of this right
• This includes many states similar to Texas politically, including Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana, and Nebraska.

Opportunity to Cure Late Rent

Possible Changes Based on Example Laws:

• Austin has been at forefront of this right at the city level
• Austin City Council passed an emergency right to cure law early in the COVID pandemic, requiring a 60-day period for tenants to cure nonpayment before being evicted
• More recently, activists have been pushing for City Council to adopt a 21-day notice with an opportunity to cure in that timeframe, to make these protections permanent.

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Opportunity to Cure Late Rent

Possible Changes Based on Example Laws:

• A 3-day opportunity to cure bill was introduced in 1995, but died in committee
• If advocates feel a sudden change to the law is not politically likely, then there are ways to work towards this change gradually
• Lawmakers could take away the ability for a lease to reduce the notice to vacate from 3 days, and then later include an opportunity to cure in that 3-day window
• Advocates could also attempt to pass legislation or go through the TDHCA to first guarantee this right for LIHTC properties, with the hope of expanding this to all rental housing

References

https://texaslawhelp.org/article/special-tenant-rights-to-notice-during-covid-19

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=74R&Bill=HB1474