Renters find extra hurdles to recovery after hurricanes
DALLAS — A neighbour was the first to tell Paige Cane that her landlord had posted an eviction notice on the door of her flooded apartment in Port Arthur, Texas.
The 26-year-old was more than 300 miles (480 kilometres) away with no car, sleeping in a Dallas shelter for evacuees escaping Harvey’s floodwaters. The mother of four had no way to get back in the five days the eviction notice gave her to remove her belongings before they would be heaped on the curb.
Rental housing has been a concern in many cities in Texas and Florida after hurricanes Harvey and Irma flooded tens of thousands of homes. Texas renters have complained of difficulties getting out of leases on damaged properties, short timelines for evictions, and trouble finding affordable rentals because landlords have a glut of tenants to choose from. In Florida, advocates worry rebuilding efforts after Irma are forcing out mobile home park residents who rent coveted land in the Florida Keys.
In Texas, housing advocacy groups in Houston, Port Arthur and other hard-hit cities are fielding complaints. Lone Star Legal Aid, which provides free civil legal services to low-income residents in parts of the state, has received nearly 100 complaints from renters since the storm — complaints that can encompass issues dozens of renters have at one complex.