TYLER, Texas — The cost of rent has continued to rise over the past year, causing residents to fall behind on their payments.
In Smith County Pct. 1, Constable Ralph Caraway Jr. has seen evictions fluctuate during his six months in office.
“It’s very concerning," Caraway said. "One eviction a month is a lot because that’s one family that doesn’t have a home to come home to."
From July to November, 276 eviction citations were written in Pct. 1, which led to 41 evictions.
It's causing a predicament for tenants and makes it hard for officials who have to force people out of their homes.
“It's tough to knock on the door and tell the person, 'OK, it's that time — were going to have to ask you to remove yourself from the residence'," Caraway said.
Caraway said the cause of this uptick is the current status of the economy with inflation being the main factor.
“In our world the cost of living is going up, gas prices are going up, groceries are going up," Caraway said. "You have all of these things that are working with and against you at the same time."
To ease the struggle, Caraway said he and his team are working diligently to help tenants catch up on their payments.
“I will have to say this, that some of the landlords and owners they're willing to work with a lot of the people going through the eviction process,” Caraway said. "Whatever resolve they come up with, we're willing to help.”
Once an eviction citation is issued, the tenant has about two weeks to seek rental assistance or other resources to make up for missed payments.
“It's not a process where people are being yanked out of a home," Caraway said. "People are actually willing to work and communication has to come in where the tenants can speak with the landlords to come up with a resolve."
"Sometimes the eviction process kind of puts the accountability on the person to pay and then, also, it kind of lets the person know that if you're not going to do it, this is the result of it," he continued.
