Untangling Titles in Dallas; Texas Eviction Moratorium Extended
Stories abound about people in southern states facing denials of disaster assistance because they can’t prove clear title to their homes.
It’s hurricane season — and hurricanes are hard on Texas. When Texas residents lack the legal basis for insuring their homes, or to claim disaster assistance after storm damage, the harm is compounded. This season, through a pilot program started last year for Dallas residents, legal service providers are stepping in to help. They’ve started a new legal support system to clear titles: Title and Property Assistance, or TAPA.
TAPA: Tapping Legal Services to Clear Titles in Dallas
The Texas TAPA initiative helps households earning no more than 120% of the area’s median income who are having trouble due to unclear titles. Priority is given to those who have missed out on Dallas homeowners’ benefits because of title issues.
Some residents aren’t sure their names are on their house deeds at all. Some are living in heirship properties — homes passed down informally through the generations. They share their ownership interests with missing heirs who could legally claim part of their homes’ value. And some are unable to rectify utility billing problems, tax bills, unresolved liens or other issues because they live in homes deeded in deceased relatives’ names.
Tapping into the expertise of Attorney Lauren Cadilac of the Dallas – Fort Worth firm Cadilac Law, the TAPA initiative works to clarify title ownership for people in these and similar situations. It supplies legal representation, helps avert foreclosures, and clears paths to government assistance when disaster strikes. Residents who qualify for TAPA can get free or low-cost legal representation in court.
What are some of the specific services TAPA can offer?
Disclaimer deeds. If known heirs could possibly have competing claims to the property, they might be willing to sign a written disclaimer of interest in order to renounce their claims. See the Texas Disclaimer of Interest Forms at Deeds.com.
Muniments of title (Texas-specific proof of ownership). A muniment of title saves money and time after a person dies with a will and without debt. A judge can declare that the will is valid; then the heir named in the will is legally considered the new title holder, and the order is recorded in the county. A will must exist for muniment of title to occur.
Small estate proceedings. Is no will available? Following Texas Estates Code Chapter 205, property in an estate of modest value can legally pass to the heirs by a streamlined method, without requiring a personal representative or going through formal probate. The small estate affidavit must be accompanied by an affidavit of heirship.
Affidavit of heirship. The Texas affidavit of heirship becomes ownership evidence after it is signed, notarized, and recorded in the property’s county and is uncontested for five years. The affidavit includes a legal description of the property and names the heirs who can take over responsibilities that belonged to a former owner who has died. This instrument enables the named heir to apply for benefits and otherwise control the property, as long as other heirs don’t bring competing claims.
Mediation among heirs. There could be many heirs holding various percentages of ownership. Some may be distant from the home, or living in unknown locations. When multiple heirs have partial interests in the same title, their claims can sometimes be worked out through a mediation process. This method can be used to resolve disputes and divide the property value in an agreed-upon way.
Adopted in Texas: Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act
Also helpful for Texas residents is the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, a model law which the state has adopted. With a groundswell or public support, it has become the legal standard not in Texas (and several other states as well).
The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act offers people who live in inherited homes a path to the legal resolution they need to be able to apply for disaster-related assistance and other benefits. Through the Act, they can sell the home at a fair cost. Then they can divide the property value among the heirs. This also protects families from being pitted against each other by real estate buyers who target some of the state’s most vulnerable people — communities that have historically been less likely to have access to estate planning advice.
Under the Act, if heirs are unable to buy out the one who tries to force a property sale, the court can examine the situation and determine the fairest possible resolution. If that turns out to be a sale, the home must be listed on the market and cannot be auctioned off at a sheriff’s sale. This means the home is likely to receive its fair market value. This provision helps heirs preserve wealth they would have lost to investor buyers.
Controversial: Title Insurance in Texas
Title insurance ensures a homeowner that the deed, which establishes homeownership, is valid. It is purchased when a homeowner buys the home in the first place. If an ancestor bought coverage way back in time, the current heirs are still covered by title insurance.
Unfortunately, people with unclear titles who did not buy the home they occupy may not have proof that the former owner’s policy belongs to them. They might know nothing of the original policy’s existence.
In any case, title insurance is a controversial subject in Texas, where it’s more expensive than anywhere else in the country. Most of the proceeds go to the policy underwriters. Only a very small percentage is spent on actually untangling titles.
The Texas title insurance industry has a strong contingent of lobbyists. So, even in neat, tidy housing developments where title issues have never cropped up, insurance companies charge as much as $4,000 to cover the titles. Could things be different? Sure. Texas could open up title insurance to competition, rather than shielding insurance companies’ rates. Or it could do as Iowa has done: ban commercial title insurers outright. Iowa’s state-managed title insurer issues standard certificates to homebuyers. The owners receive a product that’s just like the coverage provided by private insurance firms — for a small fraction of the price.
☛ Is title insurance outdated and overpriced? Read more.
Extended: Texas Eviction Moratorium
As we turn the page from July to August 2021, the CDC’s Covid-19 eviction moratorium will be lifted nationwide. But renters in Texas are getting a new, two-month grace period, thanks to a judicial order from the Texas Supreme Court. The state’s federally funded protection for renters would have ended July 27; now, it will stay in effect throughout August and September. Meanwhile, the state is scrambling to get federal assistance funds distributed to Texans.
Worried Texas residents are pointing to a “perfect storm” of extreme heat, hurricane season, and the surges in Covid variants to call for stronger housing protections.
Through October 1st, judges can pause evictions for 60 days if landlords have pending rental assistance applications, or upon the agreement of both the renter and an owner who seeks rental assistance.
Renters who can prove serious need can apply to the Texas Rent Relief Program for up to 15 months of rent and utility support.
According to The Texas Tribune, Texas courts are applying eviction avoidance rules inconsistently. So, the outcome struggling landlords’ and renters’ cases may depend on finding local legal help — and getting a concerned judge.
Supporting References
City of Dallas: Pilot Program to Help Resolve Title Troubles for Dallas Homeowners (Jun. 2020).
Seth Harp for the Texas Observer (via the San Antonio Current): Entitled to Profit: In Texas, Title Insurance Is a ‘Total Scam’ (Jun. 27, 2021).
Sanford Nowlin for the San Antonio Current: Texas Supreme Court Extends Eviction Assistance Program, Which Was Set to Expire, Until October 1 (Jul. 20, 2021).
Allyson Waller for The Texas Tribune: Coronavirus in Texas – As Federal Eviction Moratorium Expires, Tenants and Rent Advocates Scramble to Obtain State and Local Rental Relief Funds (Jul. 30, 2021).
Photo credits: TimUrban89, chapay, and psaudio, via Pixabay. Texas flag: Pixabay.