COVID-19
Information & Resources
LNESC Dallas's physical office is closed until further notice. However, we will continue to provide our services online. We encourage everyone to practice social distancing and stay safe during these trying times.
Please find additional information below.
Cada domingo a las 4 de la tarde, el programa UNIDOS del Departamento de Policía de la Ciudad de Dallas dará información en vivo en Facebook. Haz clic aquí para ver más información
What is COVID-19?
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China.
How does COVID-19 spread?
The virus that causes COVID-19 probably emerged from an animal source, but is now spreading from person to person. The virus is thought to spread mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It also may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. Learn what is known about the spread of newly emerged coronaviruses at https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of:
• fever
• cough
• shortness of breath
How can I help protect myself and others?
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
DISD
DISD Schools are now incorporating a hybrid model due to COVID-19. Our Partner schools, Molina, Sunset, and Pinkston are dealing with the situation in their own way. Parents and students are still expected to work on classwork from home. The district has provided laptops and internet hotspots to facilitate at-home learning. Please visit your school's website or the DISD website for more information:
"As of 2:00 pm March 9, 2021 Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 265 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County, 251 confirmed cases and 14 probable cases. There is a cumulative total of 248,225 confirmed cases (PCR test). There is a cumulative total of 36,710 probable cases (antigen test). A total of 3,180 Dallas County residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19 illness."**
* Numbers are updated on the Dallas County website at 10:00 AM daily.
** Information obtained on 3/10/2021
Note: Does not include positive results from persons who reside out-of-state or outside of Dallas County.
"Residents are asked to help prevent spread of the virus by practicing non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing (avoiding close contact with other people, especially those who are sick), covering coughs and sneezes, and hand hygiene. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. If you are sick, stay home.
Current travel advisories can be viewed at the U.S. Department of State and CDC. The CDC recommends that travelers defer all cruise travel worldwide."
DALLAS COUNTY COURT INFORMATION
During the COVID-19 crisis, Courts are open remotely and may still hear cases via teleconference and video conference regarding the following matters:
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Request for Writ of Re-entry (when ILLEGALLY locked out by landlord)
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Repair and Remedy Cases (for uninhabitable living conditions)
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Peace Bonds
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Writs of Restoration of Utilities
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Emergency Detention Warrants
Justice Of The Peace Courts
https://www.dallascounty.org/government/jpcourts/
TENANT HOTLINE:
To prevent renters from being displaced and to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19, Dallas County Justice of the Peace Courts have ordered:
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All currently filed and pending eviction cases are postponed and continued for at least 60 days from March 18, 2020 until May 18, 2020.
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Any eviction case filed during the 60 days following the date of this order shall not be set for trial until the expiration of at least 60 days from the date of this order.
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All writs of possession currently pending shall not be enforced by any means for at least 60 days from the date of this order; and
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No writ of possession shall issue for any eviction case for 60 days from the date of this order.
Please note:
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Tenants engaged in criminal activity or causing an imminent threat to health and safety may be subject to eviction prior to the aforementioned date.
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Tenants maintain responsibility for paying their rent.
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Tenants are encouraged to contact their landlord and make sure they are aware when eviction moratoriums are in place.
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When having difficulty paying rent, tenants should attempt to make payments and/or establish a payment schedule with their landlord.
Once you have taken the above steps and for all other tenants, if you have been evicted or notified of a pending eviction, notify the Tenant Hotline by email or phone:
Tenanthotline@dallascounty.org
214-653-6563 or 833-743-0072
https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/tenant-hotline.php
Please leave a message with your address, name and number and someone will contact you.
EVICTIONS, LANDLORD AND TENANT GUIDANCE
The Texas Supreme Court allows landowners to:
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Post a notice to vacate prior to filing an eviction lawsuit
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Allow the filing of the eviction lawsuit; and
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In very limited cases to allow the eviction lawsuit to proceed to judgment and a writ of possession to be issued and executed on the judgment.
The Texas Supreme Court chose to bar landowners/constables from doing the following:
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proceeding to trial on an eviction case (except in very limited circumstances)
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to have the court clerk issue a writ of possession that would give a constable authority to physically remove a tenant from the premises.
(Note: a writ of possession issues only after a judgment in favor of the owner/landlord – because the eviction case can no longer (while this order is enforce) be tried under the Supreme Court’s emergency order, there will not be a legal basis for the clerk to issue a writ of possession.)
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posting the notice required to be posted by the constable after a judgment has already been entered against a tenant but before the constable actually executes (or carries out) the writ of possession, which is when the constable would actually remove a person and their belongings from the premises. Because there can be no judgment or writs of possession issued, there will be no legal basis for a constable to provide the notice that a writ of possession will be executed.
(Note: unless a tenant leaves voluntarily, a writ of possession can only be executed by a proper law enforcement officer. While a landlord can still post a pre-suit notice to vacate and file an eviction suit under the Supreme Court’s orders, a landlord cannot then use a self-help remedy to physically remove a tenant. They must seek a writ of possession and execution of the writ by a peace officer. If a tenant is being forcibly removed by a landlord/owner, or the landlord is utilizing other methods to remove the tenant that are not allowed (i.e., lockout, shutting off utilities, etc.), then a complaint would be appropriate because such action by the owner/landlord would be in violation of the property code.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
"Imminent Threat" Eviction Guidance – Texas Supreme Court
The Texas Supreme Court's March 19th order stops residential eviction cases except for cases where the tenant's conduct is either criminal activity or is an "imminent threat" to the health and safety of the plaintiff, plaintiff's employee, or other tenants.
The CARES Act was signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020. Section 4024 applies to
All housing programs to which VAWA applies (public housing, project-based section 8, Housing Choice Vouchers, LIHTC, etc.) as well as the rural voucher program and properties with federally-backed mortgages (HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac; more detailed definitions are in that section). The effects include:
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No nonpayment evictions can be filed in any of these covered properties for 120 days from the effective date, which means until JULY 25.
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No notices to vacate for nonpayment may be issued in any of these properties until after the 120-day period expires, AND such Notices To Vacate (NTV) must be for at least 30 days or AUGUST 24TH.
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These covered properties may not charge late fees/other penalties for late payment during the 120-day period.
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The 30-day NTV requirement does not have an end date, and it is not limited to nonpayment cases. So other types of lease breaches during the 120-day period require a 30-day NTV, and all breaches (nonpayment and otherwise) after July 25 require a 30-day NTV.
The federal eviction moratorium does not affect the following
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Eviction cases that were filed before March 27, 2020;
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Eviction cases with purely private landlords with none of the funding described above; or
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Eviction cases in which the grounds for eviction are alleged non-rent breaches. Texas