TL;DR: Under Senate Bill 38, effective January 1, 2026, only the Texas Legislature can pause or modify eviction proceedings during an emergency. The governor can’t do it. The Texas Supreme Court can’t single out eviction cases for special treatment the way it did during COVID. A narrow exception allows the court to modify all court procedures uniformly during a declared disaster, but that exception can’t target evictions specifically. Texas averages multiple federal disaster declarations per year. Eviction proceedings now continue through all of them.
During the COVID pandemic, the Texas Supreme Court issued more than 50 emergency orders that modified eviction procedures statewide. Cases were abated. Timelines were extended. An entire Eviction Diversion Program let tenants pause their cases while applying for rental assistance (and seal the records afterward). For roughly three years, the court had an active hand in slowing the eviction process during a declared emergency.
That ended incrementally. The last emergency orders expired. The diversion program closed in mid-2023. And in June 2025, Governor Abbott signed SB 38 into law, which, among other things, codified that none of it can happen the same way again.
StopTXEviction.org, operated by Apartment Access Group and brokered by Spirit Real Estate Group (TX Broker License #562021), tracks eviction screening outcomes across more than 1,000 apartment communities in Texas. The moratorium ban in SB 38 matters to renters not just as policy, but because of what follows: every eviction filed during a disaster enters the same screening databases as every other eviction. The screening software doesn’t know it was a hurricane. It flags the record and returns a deny recommendation. That screening consequence, not the policy debate, is what this article covers.
What SB 38 Changed About Emergency Eviction Powers
The core change is in new Texas Property Code §24.0043(a): only the Texas Legislature can modify or suspend the eviction procedures laid out in Chapter 24. Not the governor through executive order. Not the Texas Supreme Court through emergency order. Not a city council through local ordinance. The authority to pause evictions during an emergency now sits exclusively with the Legislature, which meets in regular session every two years.
That’s a direct response to what happened during COVID, when the Texas Supreme Court issued dozens of emergency orders that altered eviction timelines, required landlords to include CDC moratorium disclosures in their filings, and created an entire diversion program. All without the Legislature voting on any of it.
A narrow exception exists. Under §24.0043(b), the Texas Supreme Court can still modify court procedures during a declared disaster, but only under Government Code §22.0035(b), and only if two conditions are met. First, the modification has to apply uniformly to all courts affected by the disaster. Not just eviction courts. All of them. Second, the request must be in writing and publicly available. In practice, this means the court could extend filing deadlines for every case type during a hurricane. It can’t single out eviction cases for abatement, paused hearings, or special notice requirements the way it did from 2020 through 2023.
SB 38 also preempts local action. During COVID, Austin and Dallas enacted local eviction protections that went beyond the state orders. Under SB 38, cities and counties can’t do that anymore.
The rest of SB 38 compounds the speed of the eviction process in ways that matter during a disaster. The appeal window after an eviction judgment dropped to 5 days. Summary disposition lets a court enter judgment without a full trial if the tenant doesn’t file a sworn response disputing the facts. Electronic notice delivery is now authorized. Off-duty law enforcement officers can serve writs of possession if a constable can’t serve within five business days.
Here’s what the emergency powers framework looks like as of January 2026:
| Authority | Power Before SB 38 | Power After SB 38 (Effective Jan. 1, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Texas Legislature | Could pass eviction moratorium legislation | Only body authorized to modify or suspend eviction procedures |
| Governor | Could request TX Supreme Court action via disaster declaration | Cannot impose eviction-specific moratorium through executive action |
| TX Supreme Court | Issued 50+ emergency orders modifying eviction procedures during COVID | Can modify court procedures during disaster ONLY if applied uniformly to all case types |
| Local governments | Some cities (Austin, Dallas) enacted local eviction protections | Preempted from enacting local eviction moratoriums or modifying state eviction procedures |
For a full breakdown of each step, see the Texas eviction process timeline.
The full text of SB 38, including the senate committee analysis, is available through the Texas Legislature Online bill page.
[AS OF February 2026] [VERIFY annually: legislative amendments]
How Texas Got Here: The COVID Emergency Orders and What Came After
In March 2020, Governor Abbott declared a statewide disaster. Within weeks, the Texas Supreme Court issued its first emergency order suspending eviction proceedings. Eviction hearings were paused. Writs of possession were delayed. The court eventually built an entire framework of emergency modifications on top of the existing eviction process, one order at a time.
By the time it was done, the court had issued more than 50 emergency orders touching eviction procedures. Some required landlords to include CDC moratorium forms in their eviction filings. Others created the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, which let tenants pause active eviction cases, apply for rent assistance through the Texas Rent Relief Program, and seal their case records if the assistance came through. The diversion program launched in February 2021 using $171 million in federal CARES Act funding.
None of this came from the Legislature. The court acted under its emergency authority, and the governor supported it through disaster declarations.
Then the protections peeled away. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the CDC’s nationwide eviction moratorium in August 2021. Texas’s own enforcement of that moratorium had already weakened. The state court’s emergency orders stopped referencing the CDC declaration by early 2021. The Texas Eviction Diversion Program closed for new applications and expired in mid-2023. The Texas Rent Relief Program ran through its funding around the same time.
Eviction filings surged. In a pre-pandemic year, Texas saw roughly 239,000 eviction cases filed statewide. By 2022, that number climbed past 270,000. Harris County alone recorded 76,321 eviction filings in 2024, as of the most recent county data. Dallas County processes nearly 40,000 eviction cases per year. Fort Worth and Houston saw filings exceed pre-pandemic levels well before SB 38 was filed.
The 2023 legislative session previewed SB 38. Lawmakers preempted local eviction protections. Austin and Dallas had enacted additional tenant safeguards that went beyond state law. Two years later, SB 38 went further. Senator Paul Bettencourt filed it. The bill passed with bipartisan support after substantial revision. Governor Abbott signed it June 20, 2025. It took effect January 1, 2026.
The through-line: COVID created an unprecedented experiment in emergency eviction modification by court order. SB 38 closed the door on repeating it.
The Texas State Law Library’s COVID-19 housing guide tracks the full timeline of emergency orders and their expiration.
What This Means During the Next Hurricane, Winter Storm, or Flood
Texas gets hit. That’s not editorial commentary. It’s the actuarial table. The state receives multiple federal disaster declarations in a typical year. Hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. Flooding in the eastern half of the state. The 2021 winter freeze that knocked out power to millions. Tornado outbreaks through North Texas. Hurricane Beryl in 2024 caused visible dips in Harris County eviction filings, not because of a moratorium, but because courts physically closed for several days.
Under SB 38, if a Category 4 hurricane makes landfall on the Gulf Coast tomorrow, eviction proceedings continue. Courts might close temporarily because the building is flooded or without power. But once they reopen, there’s no eviction-specific pause. No abatement of pending cases. No mandatory delay in issuing writs of possession.
The compressed timelines in SB 38 make this sharper than it sounds. A renter who evacuates has 5 days to appeal an eviction judgment. If the court can’t serve the eviction petition through a constable within 5 business days, an off-duty law enforcement officer can do it. Summary disposition can produce a judgment without a full trial if the renter doesn’t file a sworn, fact-specific response. For a renter 200 miles away in temporary housing, meeting those deadlines isn’t a matter of discipline. It’s a logistics problem that SB 38 didn’t build an exception for.
Hurricane Harvey offers the closest data on what disaster-driven evictions look like without a moratorium. There was no eviction pause during Harvey in 2017. After the storm, eviction filings in Houston dipped briefly while courts were closed, then spiked above normal levels. Research from January Advisors found that in the eight months following Harvey, roughly 1,600 more evictions were filed in Harris County than statistical models predicted based on pre-storm trends. Properties in flooded zip codes saw some of the steepest increases. That happened without SB 38’s streamlined process. The next major hurricane hits a faster eviction timeline.
The Narrow Disaster Exception: What It Actually Allows
The Texas Supreme Court retains some authority during disasters, but the scope is narrow under §24.0043(b). The court can modify court procedures (filing deadlines, hearing schedules, service timelines) but only if the modification applies to all courts similarly affected by the disaster. All case types. Not just evictions. And the request has to be made in writing.
In practice, that means a hurricane could trigger a general extension of all court deadlines in the affected counties. Every civil case, every criminal case, every family law case gets the same extension. But the court can’t abate eviction cases specifically. It can’t require landlords to include additional disclosures on eviction petitions during a disaster. It can’t create a disaster-specific diversion program. Those tools are gone unless the Legislature reconvenes and passes legislation to bring them back.
Renters in the Houston area can start with the Houston eviction-friendly apartments page for community-specific guidance.
[INTAKE FORM: “Check Your Options After an Eviction Filing”]
The Screening Consequence No One Is Talking About
Every article about SB 38 covers the policy change. None of them cover what happens after.
Here’s the part that matters to renters looking for their next apartment: an eviction filed during a natural disaster enters the same screening databases as an eviction filed for any other reason. LexisNexis, RealPage, CoreLogic: the databases that 85-90% of Texas apartment communities pull from during screening, don’t tag records by cause. There’s no field for “this eviction was hurricane-related.” There’s no flag that says “filed during a declared disaster.” The database shows an eviction filing, a case outcome, and any associated property debt. That’s it.
When a renter with a disaster-related eviction applies for an apartment six months later, the screening software processes that record the same way it processes a routine nonpayment eviction. It matches the eviction against the community’s preset criteria. If the eviction falls inside the community’s lookback window (which varies by property, ranging anywhere from under 2 years to 7 years), the software returns a deny recommendation. No human reviews the circumstances. No one reads an explanation letter at that stage. The software decided.
That’s the screening reality at most communities. Roughly 10-15% conduct what could genuinely be called case-by-case review, where a leasing manager or regional manager reads the file and weighs context. The rest use “case-by-case” on their listings page because it sounds flexible, while the screening software enforces preset thresholds behind it. A renter who assumes a community will be understanding about a hurricane-related eviction is making a bet that lands about 10-15% of the time.
Filed vs. Judgment: Why It Matters More During a Disaster
The distinction between an eviction filing and an eviction judgment always matters in screening. During a disaster, it matters more.
An eviction filing that gets dismissed (because the renter resolved the back rent, negotiated with the landlord, or had the case thrown out) carries a different screening weight than a judgment. Dismissed filings still show on screening reports, and the third-party guarantee is still required at most communities if the filing is under 5 years old. But some communities with flexible criteria will evaluate a dismissed filing in-house when credit is above 600 and income is strong.
A default judgment is worse. And default judgments are exactly what SB 38’s compressed timelines make more likely during disasters. A renter who evacuated, who is living in temporary housing, who doesn’t receive the eviction petition or doesn’t know the 5-day appeal window has started, that renter ends up with a default judgment. The court rules without them. The judgment enters their record. And if unpaid rent from the disaster becomes property debt on top of the judgment, the screening barrier compounds.
Property debt is the single most disqualifying item on a rental screening report. When it appears alongside an eviction judgment, automated screening declines the application at virtually every community without the third-party guarantee. The guarantee, which costs approximately one month’s rent ($900-$1,200 as of February 2026), is what makes approval possible. It covers the community’s financial risk. Without it, the renter is applying into a system built to filter them out.
| Eviction Outcome | Screening Impact | Typical Approval Pathway |
|---|---|---|
| Filing dismissed (resolved before judgment) | Moderate: filing appears on court records, some communities evaluate dismissed filings in-house with credit 600+ and strong income | Third-party guarantee required at most communities if under 5 years old. Limited in-house approval possible at communities with flexible criteria |
| Default judgment (missed court date) | Severe: judgment plus potential property debt on screening report | Third-party guarantee required. Default judgments carry heavier screening weight than contested cases |
| Judgment with outstanding property debt | Most severe: auto-decline at nearly all communities without the guarantee | Third-party guarantee mandatory. Property debt stays on LexisNexis reports even after payment, though paid debt screens better than unpaid |
For renters dealing with a disaster-related eviction on their screening report, calling 1-877-595-8745 connects directly to the screening team at StopTXEviction.org.
What Texas Renters Can Do Right Now
SB 38 doesn’t change the eviction process itself. It changes the emergency brake that used to exist alongside it. The practical steps for renters fall into two windows: during a disaster, and after a disaster-related eviction hits the screening record.
During a Disaster
Document everything. Damage to the unit, communications with the landlord, repair requests, dates of evacuation and return. If the situation eventually becomes an eviction case, this documentation is what distinguishes a contested filing from a default judgment.
Pay rent if at all possible. If paying isn’t possible, communicate that in writing to the landlord. A text thread or email showing the renter acknowledged the rent obligation and explained the situation is worth more in court than silence followed by a default judgment.
Don’t ignore court papers. Under SB 38, the eviction timeline is compressed. Five days to appeal. Summary disposition if no sworn response is filed. A renter who gets served with an eviction petition during a disaster and doesn’t respond because they’re focused on survival is the renter who ends up with a default judgment, the worst screening outcome.
Contact legal aid immediately. TexasLawHelp.org maintains a disaster-specific manual covering landlord-tenant issues during emergencies. Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid handle eviction cases in their service areas. A legal aid attorney can file the response or negotiate with the landlord before a judgment enters the record.
After a Disaster-Related Eviction
Get the court disposition paperwork. Know whether the case resulted in a filing only, a dismissal, a settlement, or a judgment. The distinction affects every screening interaction going forward.
Determine whether property debt exists and the amount. Unpaid rent from the disaster period, early termination fees, damage charges. If any of these were assessed, they’ll show up on the LexisNexis rental history report and compound the screening barrier.
Fill out the screening form. The intake form at StopTXEviction.org captures the data points that determine which communities match a renter’s specific profile: credit range, eviction type and age, property debt amount, income, target area, budget, and timeline. The screening team reviews the profile and responds within 24 hours with matched community options, including whether the third-party guarantee is required or in-house approval is possible.
The third-party guarantee runs approximately $900-$1,200 (one month’s rent) as of February 2026. That cost can be paid upfront or split into monthly installments over 5-6 months at $180-$240/month. It’s an additional cost on top of security deposit and first month’s rent. But it’s also the difference between a renter who applies blind and gets denied at four communities (burning $200-$300 in non-refundable application fees) and a renter who applies to one matched community and gets approved.
Renters facing eviction during a disaster or dealing with a disaster-related eviction on their record can call 1-877-595-8745 for screening.
The TexasLawHelp.org disaster manual on landlord-tenant issues covers lease termination, rent obligations, and tenant rights during emergencies.
Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid handle eviction cases in their service areas.
What This Law Doesn’t Change: The Honest Limitation
SB 38 didn’t create the screening problem. It formalized what was already the default.
Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017. There was no eviction moratorium. Eviction filings spiked above normal levels in Harris County for a full year after the storm. Those Harvey-era eviction records entered the same screening databases, triggered the same automated declines, and required the same third-party guarantee to overcome. The COVID emergency orders were the historical exception, not the rule. Texas renters navigated disasters without eviction moratoriums before COVID, and SB 38 puts the state back to that baseline.
Paying off property debt from a disaster eviction is worth doing. It improves credit and demonstrates good faith. But it doesn’t immediately clear the flag from LexisNexis. The rental history report updates on its own timeline, and a paid collection can still appear for months after settlement.
Even older disaster-era evictions (from Harvey, from the 2021 freeze, from any storm in the past 5-7 years) may still require the third-party guarantee if they fall within a community’s lookback period. And the guarantee itself costs money ($900-$1,200 or approximately one month’s rent), which is an additional financial burden on top of a disaster’s other costs. For renters with multiple evictions or compound profiles (eviction plus property debt plus credit below 550), options narrow to a handful of communities per metro, even with the guarantee.
That’s the reality. It’s not a reason to stop looking. It’s a reason to screen first and apply strategically rather than burning through application fees at communities that will auto-decline the profile.
How This Plays Out: A Screening Scenario
A renter in the Houston area with 610 credit and $5,200/month income. A hurricane damages the apartment complex. The renter evacuates, moves in with family 40 miles away, and falls two months behind on rent while displaced. The landlord files for eviction. The renter, still in temporary housing, doesn’t receive the petition in time. A default judgment is entered. $2,400 in property debt from the unpaid rent.
The wrong approach: Six months later, the renter applies at four Class B apartment communities without screening. All four decline. The automated screening flags the default judgment and the $2,400 in property debt. Total cost: $300 in non-refundable application fees and a further dip in credit score from the hard inquiries.
The right approach: The renter fills out the screening form at StopTXEviction.org. The profile (610 credit, $5,200 income, default judgment under 12 months old, $2,400 property debt) gets matched to communities whose screening criteria work with that specific combination when the third-party guarantee is in place. One application to a matched community. One approval. The hurricane caused the eviction, but the screening system doesn’t weigh the cause. The guarantee addresses the screening barrier that the system actually enforces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Texas governor stop evictions during a hurricane or natural disaster?
No. Under SB 38, effective January 1, 2026, only the Texas Legislature can modify or suspend eviction procedures prescribed by Chapter 24 of the Texas Property Code. The governor cannot impose an eviction-specific moratorium through executive action, even during a declared disaster.
Is there any exception that allows eviction pauses during emergencies in Texas?
A narrow one. The Texas Supreme Court can modify court procedures during a declared disaster under Government Code §22.0035(b), but only if the modification applies uniformly to all court proceedings, not just evictions. The request must be made in writing. This means general deadline extensions are possible, but eviction-specific abatements or moratoriums are not.
Does SB 38 mean landlords can evict tenants during a hurricane?
Landlords still have to follow the full eviction process: written notice to vacate, filing in justice court, service of the petition, a court hearing, and a judgment before any writ of possession issues. SB 38 doesn’t skip those steps. It prevents emergency orders from pausing them. Courts may close physically during a storm, but once they reopen, eviction cases proceed on SB 38’s compressed timelines.
For a step-by-step breakdown, see the Texas eviction process timeline.
What happens if I miss my eviction court date because I evacuated?
A default judgment can be entered. Under SB 38, the appeal window is 5 days from the judgment date. Missing a court date during a disaster is one of the most damaging outcomes for future apartment screening. Default judgments carry heavier weight than contested cases that end in dismissal or settlement.
Understanding when an eviction goes on your record and whether it’s a filing or judgment changes the screening outcome.
Will a disaster-related eviction show up on my background check?
Yes. Eviction filings are public court records. Screening databases like LexisNexis, RealPage, and CoreLogic surface eviction records regardless of the circumstances that caused them. There is no field in these databases that distinguishes disaster-related evictions from any other type. The record shows the filing, the case outcome, and any associated property debt.
For more on screening timelines, see how long after an eviction can I rent again.
Can I still rent an apartment if I was evicted during a disaster?
Yes, but the third-party guarantee is required at approximately 95% of communities when an eviction appears on the screening report. The guarantee costs roughly one month’s rent ($900-$1,200 as of February 2026). StopTXEviction.org matches renters to communities with screening criteria compatible with their specific eviction profile, including eviction type, age, property debt amount, credit, and income.
For a full guide to apartments that work with eviction records, see the eviction-friendly apartments page.
What legal protections do Texas renters still have during a natural disaster?
Texas Property Code §92.054 covers lease termination when a unit becomes uninhabitable. §92.062 prevents landlords from requiring a longer lease term when relocating a tenant to another unit after a disaster. These tenant rights are separate from eviction moratorium powers and remain in effect under SB 38. For legal questions specific to a disaster situation, TexasLawHelp.org and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid offer free resources.
Is StopTXEviction.org free?
StopTXEviction.org is a free apartment locating service. After matching to a community, renters select “Apartment Locator” or “Locator Service” on their application and list Spirit Real Estate as the referring source. The community pays a referral fee from their marketing budget. The renter’s rent, deposit, and move-in costs are identical to what they’d pay applying on their own.
The Variable That Determines What Happens Next
SB 38 closed one door. The emergency eviction moratorium, the kind the Texas Supreme Court used during COVID, isn’t available for the next hurricane, the next freeze, the next flood. That’s the law now.
But for renters, the policy question isn’t the one that determines their housing outcome. The screening question is. And the screening question comes down to specifics: Was the eviction a filing or a judgment? Is there property debt, and how much? What’s the credit score? What’s the income? Those variables, not the circumstances that caused the eviction, are what the screening software evaluates.
The screening form captures exactly those data points. Fill it out or call 1-877-595-8745. StopTXEviction.org reviews the screening profile and responds within 24 hours with matched community options across Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas.
[INTAKE FORM: “Check Your Apartment Options After an Eviction”]
StopTXEviction.org is a free apartment locating service. After being matched to communities with compatible screening criteria, renters select “Apartment Locator” or “Locator Service” on their application and list Spirit Real Estate as the referring source. The community pays a referral fee from their existing marketing budget. The renter’s costs are the same whether they use the service or find the apartment on their own.
StopTXEviction.org is operated by Apartment Access Group, a team of licensed Texas Realtors. Brokered by Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC, TX Broker License #562021.
Screening criteria are set by individual apartment communities and are subject to change without notice. The information provided reflects documented policies as of February 2026 but does not guarantee approval. Final approval decisions rest with property management companies.
StopTXEviction.org is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. All legal information in this article is for informational purposes only. For legal advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed Texas attorney.
Rental pricing and cost data are estimates based on available information as of February 2026 and are subject to change. Verify all pricing directly with the property.