Stark Industries has $50,000 earmarked for Dallas tenants facing eviction.

Getting $500 of it may depend on the landlord.

During questions about its Dallas Eviction Prevention Bridge, Stark said landlords in expedited cases will generally be asked to provide written confirmation that eviction action will pause for at least 30 days when the company's payment is combined with a workable plan for the tenant's remaining balance.

The agreement is expected to spell out what remains owed, future payment dates and the landlord's commitment not to restart eviction proceedings as long as the tenant meets those terms.

That's an important bit of fine print.

Stark isn't treating a $500 reduction in someone's balance as a successful intervention if the tenant gets evicted anyway.

If a landlord refuses the agreement, Stark says it generally won't send the $500.

Instead, the company says it will try to connect the tenant with emergency rental assistance, housing-stability programs or legal-aid resources before an approaching court date or lockout. With permission, Stark says it will follow up to determine whether the referral actually produced assistance or a new landlord agreement.

And the original $500 doesn't necessarily disappear.

If that process produces a workable agreement, Stark says the tenant can return to the program and the money can still become part of the solution.

It's a more demanding standard than simply counting dollars distributed. It could also mean that some households with significant need don't receive Stark money because their landlord won't agree to the terms.

That tradeoff will be worth watching when Stark eventually reports its results.

Writing a $500 check is easy to measure. Whether someone still has a home afterward is the fine print.