Austin-area rep. wants landlords to think twice before disregarding eviction laws

*A follow-up to the Austin piñata store story. The store, Jumpolin, was allegedly demolished without notice to make room for a South By Southwest related event. In response, a Latino state legoislator – Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, of Austin – filed a bill to protect tenants. VL

By Tony Cantu, The Austin Chronicle

Inspired by the recent fate of Jumpolin – an Eastside piñata store demolished by new property owners, allegedly without notice – Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, has crafted a bill to bolster existing safeguards protecting wrongfully evicted tenants. The representative, who lives just four blocks from the former Jumpolin site, would increase penalties to “… up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the property from which the claimant was evicted,” replacing an existing cap of $200,000 or twice the economic damage to a tenant, whichever is greater.

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