Mark Melton

Mark Aaron Melton (born March 20, 1978) is an American attorney and housing advocate based in Dallas, Texas. His housing advocacy work has focused primarily on renters' rights and on eviction prevention. He co-founded and heads the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center (DEAC), an organization of volunteer attorneys that helps renters avoid eviction and housing insecurity. He is a partner at Holland & Knight.

Early life and education Melton grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He enrolled in junior college at Tarrant County College. On January 31, 2004, he and a UTA teammate won the National Moot Court Competition. Melton applied to thirteen law schools and was accepted only into Southern Methodist University, where he took night classes while working at a tax firm during the day; he graduated in 2008.

In January 2021, Melton and his wife, Lauren, co-founded the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center (DEAC) to provide pro bono services to tenants facing eviction, Much of the DEAC's private funding came from the Meltons. Melton also collaborated with nonprofits such as the United Way and City Square to provide other services for struggling renters. In addition to legal services, Melton and his wife recruited volunteers to help renters move, collect furnishings for new apartments and enroll their children in area schools or daycare. In September 2021, Melton drafted an ordinance, adopted by the city of Dallas, giving tenants 60 days to prove they had undergone financial hardship due to COVID-19 pandemic, while allowing them time to come up with money to pay back rent.

Personal life Melton and Lauren Melton married in 2017. He has four children.