BOSTON — State Sen. Brendan Crighton and fellow legislators are pushing a renters safeguard bill that prohibits “non-essential evictions” and late fees to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk.
Crighton, in a statement, said the legislation will expire 120 days after its passage or 45 days after the COVID-19 emergency declaration has been lifted, whichever is sooner.
“Unfortunately, it’s not on his desk yet,” Crighton said, noting that Senate and Massachusetts House efforts to unify the bill’s language continue.
Baker told the State House News Service he wants to sign tenant protection legislation as soon as the Legislature sends it to him. The News Service reported that a state Trial Court standing order has halted most eviction hearings, but tenant advocates say a formal moratorium is necessary to protect the most vulnerable from pressure.
The website Apartment List published online results from its housing survey last week. Conclusions included one in four renters did not pay their full April rent due to coronavirus-related financial problems.
One in nine renters had their landlord or management company proactively lower their April rent. Among those missing their full payments, 45 percent of renters were able to agree to reduced or deferred payments with their landlords and lenders, respectively.
If shelter-in-place orders were to remain in effect through June, 32 percent of renters would have difficulty covering housing costs, stated Apartment List.
Crighton’s bill defines a non-essential eviction as an eviction resulting from non-payment of rent; no fault or no cause, or one that does not involve allegations of criminal activity or lease violations that may impact the health and safety of other residents, health care workers, persons lawfully on the property, or the general public.
The bill places a moratorium on non-essential evictions, including banning the termination of a tenancy or the sending of any notice (including a notice to quit) requesting or demanding that a tenant vacate the premises.
It also prevents the court from accepting filings, entering judgments, issuing execution or scheduling a court event. Under the legislation, landlords would be prohibited from imposing a late fee for nonpayment of rent for a residential dwelling unit or small business premises unit as long as the tenant provides documentation that the missed payment was due to financial impact from COVID-19 within 30 days.
It allows landlords who received rent in advance for last month’s rent to use these funds to pay for utilities, repairs, or general upkeep. This bill also gives the executive office of housing and economic development the power to issue emergency regulations as necessary to implement this legislation.
“Finally, this bill expressly outlines that nothing in this legislation relieves a tenant from the obligation to pay rent, restricts a landlord’s ability to recover rent, relieves a mortgagor from the obligation to pay their mortgage, or restricts the ability of a creditor, mortgagee, or person having estate in the land mortgaged from recovering mortgage payments,” Crighton’s statement said.
