By Hailey Konnath

Law360 (September 25, 2020, 10:16 PM EDT) -- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday said he would create an evictions diversion program and put $167 million in CARES Act funding toward rental assistance for residents at risk of being evicted and becoming homeless, aid he said was "crucial" to the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Texas Eviction Diversion Program is intended to help Lone Star State families recover from the pandemic "without the looming threat of eviction," Abbott said in a statement. An additional $4.2 million will also go toward legal aid for eligible Texans, he said.

The funding will allow the Supreme Court of Texas, the Office of Court Administration and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to work with local governments, nonprofits and the program to help renters stay in their homes and catch up on missed rent payments, according to the statement.

The Texas Supreme Court also issued an emergency order outlining the eviction diversion program, which launches Oct. 12 for certain "pilot" counties and Nov. 9 for all other counties. which allows eviction proceedings to be delayed for 60 days. Texas courts must provide tenants with information on the program, and all court records for participants will be confidential while eviction cases are delayed, the court ruled.

The Housing Department will determine eligibility for rental assistance, according to the order.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht said in the statement that the court is happy to pitch in on efforts to keep tenants in their homes as well as "ensure that landlords are made whole."

"Judges across Texas have a duty to ensure that justice is delivered in a timely, fair, and impartial way. In times like these, sometimes that means that we search for creative ways to meet the needs of landlords and tenants," Justice Hecht said.

David Slayton, administrative director of the Texas Office of Court Administration, said the rental assistance and the diversion program would help courts deal with an anticipated "deluge of eviction filings."

"Courts have worked hard to maintain access to justice during the pandemic, but we anticipate difficulty with timely handling the large number of eviction cases likely to be filed soon," Slayton said.

Friday's order also outlines procedures for reinstating evictions. The order is set to expire Dec. 18.

The program "will strengthen our economic recovery efforts and provide a lifeline to renters and property owners alike," Abbott said in Friday's announcement.

Earlier this month, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order banning evictions nationally through the end of the year for renters who can't pay rent because of the pandemic.

The lack of rent relief is a major deficiency of the rule, advocates for renters and property owners agreed. Housing attorneys have also said the CDC's plan raises logistical questions on application and enforcement state by state.

A number of states and state courts have taken matters into their own hands, with New York's courts placing a hold on residential evictions. That moratorium is to expire Oct. 1, however, and the court has said it won't extend the deadline. Instead, the court is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature to take a leadership role on the contentious issue.

In Massachusetts earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the state's temporary ban on most types of evictions can stay in place for now. But U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf stressed that the pandemic is not a "blank check" for the governor and that there will come a time when the moratorium has gone on too long to pass constitutional muster.

--Additional reporting by Emma Whitford. Editing by Peter Rozovsky.

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