An eviction crisis: Making the case for more help
Housing activists gather in front of Gov. Charlie Baker s house, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, in Swampscott, Mass. Renters are still being evicted during the coronavirus pandemic despite a federal order that is supposed to keep them in their homes. The nationwide eviction ban went into effect Sept. 4 and was supposed to replace many state and local bans that had expired. But tenant advocates said there are still people unaware of the directive implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that broadly prevents evictions for nonpayment of rent through the end of 2020. ( AP
Published: 12/11/2020 3:06:21 PM
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on the state of evictions as a federal moratorium is set to expire at the end of the year. Part 2 will run Monday.
CHICOPEE All they want is a clean slate.
After nine-plus months of dealing with the tumultuous life upheaval caused by the pandemic on-again, off-again jobs, opening and closing of public schools, and the overall anxiety posed by COVID-19 Paige Spaulding and her husband, Jordan Jones, are now facing an even scarier prospect: eviction.
Spaulding, 23, first lost her job as a barista at Elms College when the pandemic hit in March. She returned part-time in August, but then found herself out of work again at the end of November when the college went all remote with COVID-19 cases rising. That left Spaulding, Jones, and three young children (ages 2, 3 and 6), without her income.
Jon Gorey - Globe Correspondent December 10, 2020 11:00 pm
Eviction filings in Massachusetts have been climbing since a statewide moratorium expired in October. And while Governor Charlie Baker has allocated an extra $171 million to tenant and landlord relief programs, eviction cases are expected to climb even faster in the new year, after a federal moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control expires on December 31.
The double-edged COVID housing crisis threatens both tenants a quarter of whom were unable to pay rent on time in December, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council and small landlords, who often rely on that rent to pay their own mortgages. Both groups are key constituents for real estate brokers, which is one reason the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) has created a first-in-the-nation scholarship program that will fund mediation training for its members through the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC).