Primary Department: Housing and Community Development
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Thao Costis
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Award
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request that the County Judge execute an agreement with Houston Eviction Advocacy Center for a sum not to exceed $1,500,000 in FLEX and General Funds for the purpose of representing indigent defendants facing imminent eviction proceedings within Harris County.
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Background and Discussion:
In September 2025, Commissioners Court approved Housing & Community Development to enter into an agreement with the Houston Eviction Advocacy Center (“HEAC”) to begin a pilot for increasing indigent defense representation for residents facing imminent eviction proceedings for the duration of FY26 using FLEX funds. This effort followed significant investments Harris County made in rental assistance and legal aid efforts using COVID-recovery-related resources.
Since then, HEAC has already exceeded their initial target of serving 1,000 households, now completing 167% of its caseload goal early. Their performance shows strong demand, high efficiency, and significant return on public investment. For the coming FY26, HCD requests an increase in the contract renewal, from $1M to $1.5M annually.
These commitments bridge the FLEX allocation (approved by Court in 2025, currently targeted to end in 2027) with the new $1M FY27 General Fund CLS/S commitment. HCD’s rental assistance program funded by the ...
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