On October 17, 2020, the Massachusetts eviction moratorium expired. To assist tenants facing challenges, Governor Baker announced a comprehensive Eviction Diversion Initiative in-line with our advocacy. You can read the Administration’s overview here. Some of the key components include:
- $100 million in emergency rental assistance through the RAFT program and an increase in available grant amounts from $4,000 to $10,000 per household, in-line with our recommendation since this summer’s Week of Advocacy.
- Up to $12.3 million to provide both property owners and residents with access to legal representation and related services during the eviction process.
- Expansion of Housing Consumer Education Centers and pre-court community mediation. Keep an eye out for more information on how MAR will be playing an active role in providing mediation assistance statewide.
With the expiration of the state eviction moratorium, residents will still be covered by the federal Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) moratorium, which prevents evictions for non-payment by qualified tenants who submit a written declaration to their property owners. Under this order, Massachusetts courts will accept filings, process cases, and may enter judgments, but will not issue orders of execution until after the CDC order expires. The CDC order is currently scheduled to expire on March 31, 2021, but may be extended further. Additional information on the Federal CDC eviction moratorium can be found on NAR’s resource page.
We are pleased to see all of our hard work coming to fruition in these important equitable solutions.