SAN ANTONIO — Over 600 San Antonio families were served notices to vacate their homes in late April, according to Opportunity Home.
Leaders presented concerning statistics surrounding those who are facing this process in a regular board meeting posted to YouTube on May 1. The most shocking point made to Opportunity Home board members: Tenants owe amounts ranging from $1 to $10,000.
"That should've been brought to us… you're dealing with units that have balances (of) less than $500," Opportunity Home Chair Gabriel Lopez said.
Lopez said they were unaware that people who owed small amounts of money were getting notices to vacate. Another leader adding they were "horrified" by the news.
The balances that need to be paid have been owed by tenants for a year or more. In the meeting, it was stated that many tenants have years of fees and payments owed.
Some had no idea they existed.
Tenants also spoke in the meeting about the impact the eviction notices have had on them, pleading leaders to step in.
"I'm scared, I have no family, I have kids ,and nowhere to go," said one tenant facing eviction. "It's not right to evict families."
"We're just asking you to have some compassion and think of what happens to people when they're displaced," another tenant added.
Kayla Miranda, with the San Antonio Coalition for Tenant Justice, was at the meeting. She spoke with KENS 5 on what's being done to help these families.
"Myself and other organizations are going out door-knocking and giving them information on their rights," Miranda said.
Miranda added that she has every name of the 625 people facing eviction. She plans to help them on a case to case basis so they don't lose their home.
Opportunity Home leaders want to take this route as well and fix a system that has gotten tenants to this point so it never happens again.
Opportunity Home's response to KENS 5
Opportunity Home San Antonio took the extraordinary step to protect its residents from the economic effects of COVID-19, and, in fact, led the nation by being one of the first organizations to implement an eviction moratorium before the federal government’s moratorium took effect. The expiration of the eviction moratorium in the CARES Act, which temporarily suspended evictions for nonpayment of rent or other fees, ended July 2021.
To address the adverse impact of the ongoing pandemic on our communities, Opportunity Home extended the eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent for residents in our communities.
In the last four years, due to the challenging circumstances and in line with our core value of compassion, no residents faced eviction due to nonpayment and late fees were not applied since the extension. We worked collaboratively with the city’s Neighborhood Housing and Services Department (NHSD) to provide rental relief to our families and to implement an extensive outreach plan to link families to rental-relief services including with the State of Texas.
Opportunity Home has exhausted every avenue to protect our residents during this time period, including seeking funding from Congress, the State, Bexar County, and our City Council through the American Rescue Plan Act and other funding sources. Unfortunately, we’ve simply run out of viable funding options. Moreover, while we explored forgiving rent arrears, HUD federal regulations prohibit us from using federal funds to forgive debt.
The post pandemic period has placed a strain on the organization’s finances, making it unsustainable for us to continue providing this level of support. Opportunity Home provides housing assistance to more than 65,000 children, adults and seniors. These deficits have significantly affected the funding available for housing assistance and services, including maintenance, safety, staffing, resident programs, resources and events, and more, which we provide to our communities.
The Opportunity Home Board of Commissioners directed an end to the Public Housing moratorium effective April 2024 and has asked staff to begin collecting rents from public housing residents who are significantly behind on payment.
Notices to Vacate (NTV) were issued in late April for households behind in rent more than one year. Many households are several years delinquent in rent.
A Notice to Vacate is not an eviction, as stipulated in the City of San Antonio’s Notice of Tenants' Rights. The Notice to Vacate allows a tenant an opportunity to still resolve their arrears. We will continue providing access to resources to affected residents, including options to stay in their home by entering into a repayment agreement or reducing rents due to the reduction or loss of income.
We are committed to treating our families and individuals with the utmost compassion and care as we assist them in addressing these arrears.
Opportunity Home is working in close collaboration with NHSD to seek additional options for households to avoid eviction. Supportive services include eviction intervention, legal aid, relocation assistance, or rental support for eligible households.
Statement from Mayor Ron Nirenberg to KENS 5
The City of San Antonio has partnered with Opportunity Home to prioritize connecting residents to necessary resources and financial assistance. City and Opportunity Home staff have coordinated weekly to hold resource events at various Opportunity Home properties to help residents submit rental assistance applications and enter into repayment agreements. These efforts are to ensure that residents have the necessary supports to remain housed while also working to address the Opportunity Home waiting list.