Within days of Dallas Area Interfaith’s (DAI) stunning housing code victory, the owner of hundreds of single family rental homes in West Dallas, HMK, sent eviction notices to 305 tenants ordering them to vacate the properties by the end of the month. Dallas Morning News accuses HMK of making the tenants “pawns in the company’s scorched-earth fight against tough new housing policies.”
DAI, in collaboration with the Wesley Rankin Community school and center, organized a meeting to brief hundreds of worried renters about their rights as tenants, the basics of eviction law and to pressure the City of Dallas to intervene on tenants’ behalf. Mayor Pro Tem Monica Alonzo, along with the Assistant City Attorney, assured renters that extra-legal evictions would not be tolerated.
The next day, the State District Judge Ken Molberg ordered the Dallas landlord to temporarily halt the mass evictions. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings exhorted affected residents to keep trying to pay rent, and if refused by the office, to set the money aside for when it would be.
Mayor Mike Rawlings Feels 'Sleazy' After Recording of 2015 Meeting with West Dallas Landlords Posted Online, Dallas Morning News
Dallas Judge Temporarily Halts Mass Eviction, WFAA
Hundreds Facing Eviction Scramble to Find Housing, NBC-DFW
Dallas Must Not Let Callous Landlords Win, Dallas Morning News [pdf]
West Dallas Tenants Vent Fears of Eviction, Dallas Morning News [pdf]
Father and Son Accused of Being Dallas’ Most Prolific Slumlords are Evicting Tenants from 305 Homes, Dallas Morning News [pdf]
Families Confused, Unprepared for West Dallas Mass Evictions, Dallas Morning News
Discover our latest initiatives and see what’s new in our communities!
[Excerpts] On a Tuesday evening in mid-November, dozens of cars slow-rolled, bumper-to-bumper, along Northwest Highway, queuing to turn onto Hillcrest Road. Temple Emanu-El was this year’s host for Dallas Area...
Read More
“This is our moment to reimagine Dallas—not as it is, but as its residents want it to be.” - Pastor Vincent Parker, Lead Pastor of Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church...
Read More
For years, Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) tenant leaders have shone a public light on the hazardous, unbearable apartment conditions they face, and urged city officials to develop solutions to hold...
Read More
In response to changes in immigration law enforcement and the upsurge in ICE detentions and deportations, Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) is developing a legal representation strategy for people in detention. This...
Read More
Drawing more than 700 institutionally based leaders from across North Texas, Dallas Area Interfaith's 'Cry for Justice and Call to Action' tapped into fresh energy and galvanized new participation from all...
Read More
On the weekend after the election, Dallas Area Interfaith's bilingual parish leadership development training drew 60 ministry leaders from seven parishes and three guest institutions. Bishop Greg Kelly reflected on...
Read More
After Texas legislators passed the anti-immigrant Senate Bill 4, Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) leaders didn’t lose hope. Instead, they reached out directly to the Dallas Police Department, engaging them in...
Read More
[Excerpts] You have to wonder what would become of the residents of Kendall Villas without advocates like Dallas Area Interfaith pressing the city on their behalf. ....city staffers were aware...
Read More
[Excerpt] When Pope Francis told a group of U.S. community organizers that their work was "atomic," Jorge Montiel said, "I thought, 'Oh, you mean we blow things up?'" But instead,...
Read More
Leaking faucets, holes in the floor, and rats running across children's feet at night. An apartment manager refusing to start repairs without proof of US citizenship. These are just some of...
Read More
[Excerpts] On a Tuesday evening in mid-November, dozens of cars slow-rolled, bumper-to-bumper, along Northwest Highway, queuing to turn onto Hillcrest Road. Temple Emanu-El was this year’s host for Dallas Area...
Read More
“This is our moment to reimagine Dallas—not as it is, but as its residents want it to be.” - Pastor Vincent Parker, Lead Pastor of Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church...
Read More