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On May 14 a U.S. District Court judge ruled to keep the CDC eviction moratorium in place during an appeal of the case challenging its existence. On May 5, the same judge previously issued a decision striking down the moratorium, but that ruling is now on hold while the Department of Justice appeals the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Plaintiffs in the case, who are challenging the moratorium, include the Alabama and Georgia Associations of REALTORS®. The CDC Moratorium is currently set to expire on June 30. To read more about the case, see prior post: Eviction Moratorium Update.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eviction moratorium remains in place for now. On May 5, a U.S. District Court judge issued a decision striking down the federal eviction moratorium. However, the next day the court issued a temporary order keeping the moratorium in place at least for a short time. The temporary order was issued in response to the Department of Justice (DOJ) appealing the case and filing an emergency motion, requesting that the moratorium remain in place during the appeal. Under the Court’s order, the Plaintiffs, which include the Alabama and Georgia Associations of REALTORS®, have until May 12 to file their responses opposing DOJ’s emergency motion and DOJ has until May 16 to respond. The Court is likely to issue a ruling on the emergency motion shortly thereafter.

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that some outdoor Phase 4, Step 2 industries will reopen effective Monday, May 10th. They are also planning for further reopening on Saturday, May 29th, and Sunday, August 1st. On Monday, May 10th large venues, arenas and ballparks currently open as part of Phase 4, Step 1 will be permitted to increase capacity from 12% to 25%. Effective Saturday, May 29th, gathering limits will increase to 200 people indoors and 250 people outdoors for event venues, public settings, and private settings. This is subject to public health and vaccination data. Effective Sunday, August 1 all industry restrictions will be lifted and capacity will increase to 100% for all industries, with businesses encouraged to continue following best practices. The gathering limit will also end. Face coverings will still be required at all…

On April 1st, Governor Baker signed a bill into law that secures REALTOR® PPP tax benefits. The bill (H.90), which MAR advocated in support of, extends a state tax exemption to all loans forgiven under the Paycheck Protection Program. Shortly after passage of the CARES Act in late March 2020, MAR identified a misalignment between state and federal tax law that would expose pass-through entities, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, and S-corporations, to state taxation on forgiven loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In addition to creating an unfair tax structure, this was a significant problem for two reasons: The PPP is specifically designed to create forgivable loans and the CARES Act states that the forgiven amounts should not be subject to tax. Many Realtor® businesses in Massachusetts are set up as pass-through entities.   The…

You are invited to join a training session on the new Federal Emergency Rental Assistance program on April 8, 2021 at 12:30pm.  This 75-minute session will: Review the new federal program policies and provide an understanding of who qualifies for this new benefit Understand how to help households complete the best application possible Provide landlords with a forum to ask questions about ERAP   You can register for this training by clicking here.

Effective March 22, Massachusetts will move into Phase 4, Step 1 of the state’s reopening plan. This will permit large capacity sports and entertainment venues to operate at a strict 12% capacity limit after submitting a plan to the Department of Public Health. These venues include indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas and ballparks. Also effective on March 22, gathering limits for event venues and in public settings will increase to 100 people indoors and 150 people outdoors. For REALTORS® it is important to note that gatherings—including open houses– are still limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. Read here for more information.

Governor Baker announced that the state will be continuing with its vaccine plan to protect the state’s most vulnerable people and maintain health care capacity and released the following additional details. Beginning on Monday, March 22, people who are 60 and older and work in certain sectors will be eligible. Massachusetts residents who are 55+ and with one medical condition will be eligible for vaccination beginning April 5. Finally, beginning April 19, all Massachusetts residents over the age of 16 will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Additional information on vaccine eligibility is available at Mass.gov. Pre-registration for the seven Massachusetts vaccination sites is currently available to all Massachusetts residents here.

The Biden Administration announced several changes to the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), in-line with its earlier commitment to ensure that the program reaches the smallest businesses and those in under-served communities.  The biggest change to the program is that beginning Wednesday, February 24, for 14 days applications will only be accepted from businesses with fewer than 20 employees; after the end of that period, applications will once again be accepted for all eligible businesses.  In addition, the SBA will update the loan calculations for sole proprietors, independent contractors, and the self-employed, reflecting data showing the previous calculations resulted in the program being less beneficial for that group than businesses with employees. The SBA is also adding new fraud and waste prevention measures, with new applicants needing to pass SBA fraud checks, the Treasury’s “Do Not Pay” database, and a…

Today, the Biden administration announced that it is extending the foreclosure moratorium and mortgage forbearance through the end of June. This will continue to provide relief to homeowners struggling to make payments due to the coronavirus pandemic. These actions will prohibit home foreclosures and offer delayed mortgage payments until July, as well as offer six months of additional mortgage forbearance for those who enroll on or before June 30. The eviction moratorium remains in effect until March 31, 2021, and was not included in the extension announced today. More information and resources for homeowners are available on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website.

On December 31, Governor Baker signed into law Chapter 257 of the Acts of 2020 which makes important changes to eviction rules and procedures that will be in effect until the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency. The changes include:   All notices to quit for nonpayment of rent must be accompanied by a new form. The form requires attestations on the federal eviction moratorium and agreements between the property owner and resident. It also provides resources on rental assistance programs, trial court rules and procedures, and relevant state and federal laws. Finally, the form explains that a notice to quit is not an eviction. All notices to quit for nonpayment of rent must be sent to the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development via their portal available here. Courts will grant continuances for residents facing eviction solely for non-payment of rent related to COVID-19 hardship if they have a pending application for rental assistance.