CDC eviction moratorium extension

CDC Eviction Moratorium Extended One Final Time Through July 31, 2021

by Rich Vetstein on June 24, 2021

in COVID-19, Housing Court, Landlord Tenant Law, Massachusetts Real Estate Law, Rental Housing

Massachusetts Also Extends Certain Eviction Protections

The Centers for Disease Control announced today that its CDC Eviction Moratorium will be extended one final time through July 31, 2021. The CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky issued the following statement: “CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed an extension to the eviction moratorium further preventing the eviction of tenants who are unable to make rental payments. The moratorium that was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021 is now extended through July 31, 2021 and this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings — like homeless shelters — by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

The CDC Eviction Moratorium will continue to apply in Massachusetts absent a court order overruling it (which is highly unlikely). The moratorium, which allows for new and existing eviction cases to be filed and moved forward, but stops all forced-move outs, applies to all non-payment cases and to some “no-fault” cases.

Rental Assistance Protections and Notice to Quit Measures Extended

Earlier in the month, Gov. Baker signed a bill (now codified as Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021) extending certain Covid-19 related eviction protections for tenants. Among the measures extended was Chapter 257 of the Acts of 2020, which imposes a temporary stay on eviction cases and move-out orders where tenants have applied for short term emergency rental assistance. Millions of dollars in rental aid have been flowing into Massachusetts, and both landlords and tenants alike have been taking advantage of the influx of federal funds to pay down rent arrearages and secure new housing. The stay on cases where a RAFT application is pending is extended through April 1, 2022. The new bill also extended the new rules governing what language must accompany notices to quit. Notices to quit for nonpayment must continue to show language about renter rights, through January 1, 2023. Notices to quit for nonpayment must continue to be copied to the state, through January 1, 2023.

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BREAKING: CDC Eviction Moratorium Extended Through June 30, 2021

by Rich Vetstein on March 29, 2021

in COVID-19, Housing Court, Landlord Tenant Law, Rental Housing

The Centers for Disease Control has just extended the national eviction moratorium through the end of June. “The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings — like homeless shelters — by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19.” The new order, entitled “CDC Temporary Halt In Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of Covid-19” is embedded below.

The eviction ban was scheduled to expire on March 31. While there have been several court rulings in other states overturning the eviction ban, it will remain in place here in Massachusetts in the absence of an adverse court ruling. The moratorium applies primarily to non-payment cases, however, at least one Housing Court judge has applied it to “no fault” cases where the landlord has also made a claim for unpaid rent. Notices to quit and new eviction cases can still be filed and advanced through the court system, however, the CDC moratorium will prevent executions, or move-out orders, to be issued against qualifying tenants.

The CDC eviction moratorium requires that tenants take an affirmative step to qualify for protection. Tenants must send their landlord a CDC-approved affidavit in which they certify under oath that they are:

  • Unable to pay rent due to a coronavirus-related job loss or income reduction, or qualified fora direct stimulus payment under the CARES Act or expect to earn less than $99,000, or $198,000 if filing a joint tax return. 
  • Have made best efforts to obtain all available government assistance to cover rent;
  • Is unable to pay full rent due to a substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a lay-off, or extraordinary out of pocket medical expenses;
  • Is using best efforts to make timely partial payments of rent that are as close to the full payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit, taking into account other non discretionary expenses; and
  • Eviction would likely render the tenant homeless or force him/her to move into and live in close quarters in a new congregate or shared living setting because the tenant has no other available housing options. 

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