Affordable Housing Trust Reviews New Protections Against Eviction

Report On The Meeting Of The Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (1/14/21)

The meeting was held as a Zoom webinar and was recorded.

:Participating Housing Trust members: all. Staff: Nate Malloy (Town Planner), Rita Farrell (Trust advisor), and John Page (Administrative Assistant)

Rental Assistance Program
Jana Tetreault of Community Action of the Pioneer Valley said that 94 completed valid applications for rental assistance to compensate for income loss related to COVID-19 have been received. Thirty-eight percent have been approved. Residents who are not eligible have often been able to receive assistance through other programs. Community Action has been coordinating with Community Legal Aid for legal assistance and Wayfinders for obtaining assistance from the RAFT program (Rental Assistance for Families in Transition). In total, about $70,000 has been disbursed through the Town’s rental assistance program. Community Action is still accepting applications for the program which has been extended through June.

New State Law to Minimize Evictions
With the CDC eviction moratorium to prevent the spread of COVID-19 due to expire on January 31, there was fear of a great number of evictions and foreclosures occurring in the near future. The CDC moratorium does not absolve tenants and homeowners of money owed. The number of Amherst evictions in the pipeline is relatively low because landlords seem to be unsure of what will develop under the emergency guidelines. On December 31, Governor Baker signed the Act Providing for Eviction Protections during the COVID-19 pandemic Emergency (H5181).

The new law:

• Requires revised notices to quit for COVID-related evictions;
• Delays eviction cases if there is a pending application for emergency rental assistance;
• Requires specific reporting for the Eviction Diversion Initiative; and
• Creates a task force to make recommendation on how to improve the Eviction Diversion Initiative. (See description below)

COVID-19 Notices to Quit

During the COVID-19 emergency declaration, the law requires property owners to accompany any notice to quit for non-payment of rent sent to a tenant with a form with certain information specified in the statute. The form can be found at mass.gov/noticetoquit. It includes: 

1. A statement on whether the tenant provided a declaration invoking protection from the CDC federal eviction moratorium;
2. A statement on whether the unit is covered by the eviction moratorium on certain rental properties with federal assistance or federally related financing under the federal CARES Act;  
3. Documentation of any repayment agreement between the property owner and tenant; and
4. Information on:
   • Available rental assistance programs;
   • Applicable trial court rules or orders about eviction cases; and
   • Any relevant federal or state legal restrictions on evictions.

The new law also requires a landlord to send to EOHED (Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development) electronically a copy of any notice to quit for nonpayment of rent given in writing to a residential tenant  EOHED has created a portal for landlords to upload the required electronic copy of the notice to quit.  The portal for upload also can be found at mass.gov/noticetoquit.

COVID-19 Eviction Case Delay for Pending RAFT Applications
The law directs courts to grant a continuance or stay an execution of judgement for non-payment of rent eviction cases caused by COVID-19 if the tenant has a pending application for any emergency rental assistance. Also requires the trial court to report data on eviction cases, cases participating in pretrial mediation, the number of parties receiving legal assistance, and other relevant information.

Reporting on Eviction Diversion Initiative
The law requires DHCD to report monthly on the Governor’s Eviction Diversion Initiative, including information on:

• Expansion of RAFT;
• Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program;
• Expansion of Housing Consumer Education Centers;
• Rapid rehousing assistance, including HomeBASE;
• Expansion of the Tenancy Preservation Program; and
• Any other relevant information.

It also requires DHCD to report the number of notices to quit received by EOHED.

Also, all records of no-fault evictions will be sealed regardless of their outcome, so they can not affect the ability of the tenant to rent in the future.

Town Councilor Evan Ross (District 4) had approached John Hornik, chair of the Housing Trust about drafting a measure similar to Somerville’s Housing Stability Act of 2020 which requires landlords to include information on tenants’ rights and on available assistance when issuing a notice for possible eviction. However, it seems that the above statewide measure accomplishes the same goals. The Trust did add its support to a petition to the incoming Biden-Harris administration for the extension of the federal eviction moratorium beyond January 31.

Belchertown Road Property Purchase For Affordable Housing
A working group of Trust members and Town staff has been formed to develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop the 2+ acres of land at 72, 76, and 80 Belchertown Road for the construction of affordable housing. This RFP will probably combine the Belchertown Road property with the East Street School for the creation of about 70 units. The Town’s purchase of the property using $600,000 of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds and $200,000 from the Affordable Housing Trust should be approved at an upcoming Town Council meeting after receiving favorable reviews in the Finance Committee and Community Resources Committee. The working group met on January 10 and will meet again on January 28. 

Hornik noted that since the Belchertown Road property is being purchased with CPA funds, all units there must be affordable. This does not apply to the East Street School site, where it was stipulated in a previous RFP that at least half the units be affordable. In addition, the developer may need to be a nonprofit entity, and the town must retain ownership of the property by granting a 99-year lease to the developer. The Town Attorney will clarify these stipulations.

Vacancy on the Affordable Housing Trust
Due to the resignation of Tom Kegelman from the Trust last month, applications to fill this vacancy are being accepted on the Town website, . Hornik hopes to interview applicants by the end of January.