Bhojani Tenant Bill Lets Cities Fund Free Lawyers For Renters

The text as introduced · 1,525 words

89R3334 MZM-F

By: Bhojani
H.B. No. 1063

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of tenant legal services offices by local

governments to assist low-income residential tenants in eviction

cases and in cases involving discrimination based on the tenants'

disabilities.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 5, Local Government Code, is

amended by adding Chapter 181 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 181. TENANT LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE

Sec. 181.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Brief legal assistance" means individualized

legal assistance provided in a single consultation by a tenant

legal services office to a tenant.

(2) "Disability" has the meaning assigned by Section

301.003, Property Code.

(3) "Full legal representation" means ongoing legal

services provided by a tenant legal services office to a tenant,

including court filings and appearances and other legal advice,

advocacy, or assistance associated with a tenant's case.

(4) "Indigent" means having earnings that are not more

than 200 percent of the income standard established by applicable

federal poverty guidelines.

(5) "Local government" means a municipality or county

or any combination of municipalities or counties.

(6) "Low-income" means having earnings that are not

more than 400 percent of the income standard established by

applicable federal poverty guidelines.

(7) "Reasonable accommodation" is a change,

exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service

that may be necessary for a tenant with disabilities to have an

equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, including public and

common use spaces.

(8) "Reasonable modification" means a reasonable

structural change made to existing premises that may be necessary

for a tenant with disabilities to have full enjoyment of a dwelling,

including public and common use spaces.

Sec. 181.002. TENANT LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE. (a) A local

government may create a tenant legal services office to provide

legal representation and services to tenants as provided by

Subsection (b).

(b) A tenant legal services office may provide:

(1) full legal representation to a tenant:

(A) in a residential eviction case if the tenant

is indigent; or

(B) in a case involving a violation of Section

301.025, Property Code, if the tenant is a low-income individual

with a disability; or

(2) brief legal assistance to a tenant in a

residential eviction case if the tenant is a low-income individual.

(c) A local government may establish a department of the

local government or by contract may designate a nonprofit

corporation to serve as the tenant legal services office for the

local government.

(d) Any combination of municipalities or counties may agree

by entering into an interlocal contract under Chapter 791,

Government Code, to jointly implement or administer a tenant legal

services office under this chapter.

(e) A local government by ordinance, order, or interlocal

contract may adopt rules and procedures necessary to implement this

chapter.

Sec. 181.003. PROPOSALS BY NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS. (a)

Before contracting with a nonprofit corporation to serve as a

tenant legal services office, a local government shall solicit

proposals for the office.

(b) A local government shall require a written plan from a

nonprofit corporation proposing to serve as a tenant legal services

office.

(c) The written plan must include:

(1) a budget for the tenant legal services office,

including salaries;

(2) a description of each personnel position,

including the director of legal services position;

(3) the maximum allowable caseload for each attorney

employed by the office;

(4) provisions for personnel training;

(5) a description of anticipated overhead costs for

the office; and

(6) a policy to ensure that the director of legal

services and other attorneys employed by the office do not provide

representation to a tenant if doing so would create a conflict of

interest that has not been waived by the client.

(d) After considering each proposal submitted by a

nonprofit corporation to a local government under this section, the

local government shall select a proposal that reasonably

demonstrates that the proposed tenant legal services office will

provide adequate quality representation for tenants in disputes

described by Section 181.002(b).

(e) The total cost of a proposal may not be the sole

consideration in selecting the proposal.

Sec. 181.004. DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES. A tenant legal

services office must be directed by a director of legal services

who:

(1) is a member of the State Bar of Texas;

(2) has practiced law for at least three years; and

(3) has substantial experience in the practice of

landlord-tenant law.

Sec. 181.005. FUNDING. (a) A tenant legal services office

is entitled to receive funds for personnel costs and expenses

incurred in operating the office in amounts determined by the local

government and paid out of the appropriate local fund.

(b) This chapter does not authorize a local government to

disburse, administer, or otherwise allocate funds received by the

local government from the basic civil legal services account

established under Section 51.943, Government Code, to create or

operate a tenant legal services office.

Sec. 181.006. EMPLOYEES. (a) A tenant legal services

office may employ attorneys and other personnel necessary to

perform the duties of the office as specified by the local

government.

(b) The director of a tenant legal services office must

designate at least one employee of the office to assist tenants with

disabilities in obtaining compliance with laws that apply to

housing for tenants with disabilities.

Sec. 181.007. DENIAL OF REPRESENTATION. A tenant legal

services office may not represent a tenant if:

(1) a conflict of interest exists that has not been

waived by the client;

(2) the office has insufficient resources to provide

adequate representation for the tenant;

(3) the office is incapable of providing

representation for the tenant in accordance with the rules of

professional conduct; or

(4) the office shows other good cause for not

accepting the request for representation by the tenant.

Sec. 181.008. INVESTIGATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION. A

tenant legal services office may investigate the financial

condition of a tenant who requests representation by the office.

Sec. 181.009. PUBLIC HEARING. (a) The director of a tenant

legal services office shall hold an annual public hearing to

receive recommendations about the office.

(b) Not later than the 30th day before the date of the

hearing, the director shall:

(1) provide notice of the hearing:

(A) to each interested party and official; and

(B) by publishing the notice in a newspaper of

general circulation in the local government;

(2) provide a copy of the notice to an appropriate

officer or employee of the local government who shall post the

notice:

(A) in each department or office of the local

government responsible for providing social services for the

residents of the local government; and

(B) if the local government maintains an Internet

website, on:

(i) the website of the local government;

and

(ii) if applicable, each webpage of the

website dedicated to a department or office described by Paragraph

(A); and

(3) provide a copy of the notice to an appropriate

officer or employee of each local court that has original

jurisdiction over eviction cases or cases regarding violations of

Section 301.025, Property Code, who shall post the notice in an

appropriate place at the court on behalf of the director.

(c) The director shall produce a transcript of the hearing

and post the transcript on the local government's Internet website

not later than the 30th day after the date of the hearing.

Sec. 181.010. REPORT. Not later than September 1 of each

even-numbered year, the director of a tenant legal services office

shall submit a report to the governing body of the local government

and post the report on the local government's Internet website that

contains the following information that relates to the office for

the preceding two years:

(1) the estimated number of tenants in the office's

jurisdiction that are eligible for legal services;

(2) the number of tenants that received legal

services, disaggregated by the following characteristics of the

tenants, if voluntarily disclosed by the tenant:

(A) household size;

(B) estimated length of tenancy;

(C) approximate household income;

(D) disability; and

(E) types of reasonable accommodations or

modifications needed;

(3) the types of legal services provided;

(4) the outcomes immediately following the provision

of full legal representation, as applicable and available,

including the number of:

(A) case dispositions in which:

(i) tenants remained in their residences;

(ii) tenants were evicted from their

residences;

(iii) tenants with disabilities remained in

their residences; and

(iv) tenants with disabilities were

displaced from their residences;

(B) case dispositions regarding reasonable

accommodations or modifications for tenants with disabilities

that:

(i) were approved, including the types of

accommodations or modifications that were approved; and

(ii) were disapproved, including the types

of accommodations or modifications that were disapproved; and

(C) cases in which the attorney was discharged or

withdrew;

(5) the expenditures for the office; and

(6) any other information required by the local

government.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.