With the upcoming expiration of the Eviction Moratorium vastly approaching on October 17th, you may want to think before being too quick to evict!
Governor Baker and administration announced a new $171 million initiative, named the Eviction Diversion Initiative, that will help keep people safely housed after the current Eviction Moratorium expires on October 17th.
What this comprehensive initiative will do is support both tenants and landlords with housing assistance and offer a complete set of resources in order to keep tenants safely housed and to support the expenses of landlords. Promoting housing stability for both parties will be a significant relief as the pandemic has undoubtedly created many financial challenges when it comes to maintaining monthly rental and mortgage payments.
Below find some key components of the Eviction Diversion Initiative as stated by The Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
- $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. The benefits of this program will be available to property owners with up to 20 rental units and upon application by the property owner, with resident consent. Both of these elements are in-line with our advocacy to increase protections for property owners with more than four-units and to empower property owner to apply for aid (currently RAFT only accepts applications from residents). Acceptance of RAFT assistance requires the preservation of tenancies for 6-months or, for households with school-age children, the longer of: 6-months or until June 2021.
- Up to $12.3 million to provide both property owners and residents with access to legal representation and related services during the eviction process.
- Nearly $50 million for post-eviction rapid re-housing.
- 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.
To learn more about what this funding will include click here.
Even though the state eviction moratorium is ending residents will be covered by the CDC moratorium. People that are having difficulty due to sickness or have had their income directly affected due to the pandemic will have to submit written notice to the property owners in order to fall under that exception along with a signed affidavit from the CDC.
Even with the completion of the Eviction Moratorium, there are plenty of available resources for both Landlords and tenants to utilize.