Studying data related to Dallas' ordinance regulating evictions by landlords during the pandemic to understand the impact on preserving homes

The Foundation's Data for Healthy Communities initiative was designed to create the conditions in communities that allow all residents to reach their best possible health and well-being by: (1) strengthening the evidence base for how conditions of place impact health; (2) extending the use of data and evidence throughout the decision-making process, including policy; (3) using data collection and analysis to bring communities closer together by building the capacity of places to use data, develop leaders, and genuinely engage their community; and (4) developing norms, behaviors, and formal rules of interaction related to how data are communicated and used to address problems and initiate change in underserved communities.This project of the Texas Tenants' Union and the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas seeks to determine whether Dallas' ordinance on COVID-19-related housing evictions will reduce the number of evictions and whether the rates of eviction are higher in cities that failed to enact emergency eviction ordinances. On April 22, 2020, the Dallas City Council passed an ordinance requiring landlords to give a "COVID notice of possible eviction" and provide a grace period to pay rent. Suburban cities do not have this requirement. This project is based on the lived experience of tenants in Dallas County as they try to preserve their homes during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Deliverables will include a report, a presentation of the findings, and a news release sharing results.