BOSTON – Boston Mayor Kim Janey announced a Housing Stability Agenda, following the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States to end the Center of Disease Control’s nationwide eviction moratorium and the continuing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the Housing Stability Agenda, the Boston Public Health Commission’s Interim Executive Director signed a new public health order establishing a moratorium on evictions in the City of Boston, effective immediately. Mayor Janey has also directed the Department of Neighborhood Development to lead creation of a $5 million Foreclosure Prevention Fund, with program information to be released next week.
“The loss of federal eviction protections and the ongoing pandemic has put our most vulnerable neighbors at risk of losing their homes,” said Mayor Janey. “I am implementing a housing stability agenda to continue Boston’s public health recovery with emergency assistance for renters and homeowners who need help.”
The moratorium temporarily halts residential evictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the rise of the Delta variant. The public health order prohibits landlords and property owners from pursuing tenant eviction proceedings in the City of Boston.
In the coming weeks, the $5 million Emergency Foreclosure Prevention Fund will be available to eligible homeowners to help cover costs related to homeownership including mortgage, insurance, and condominium fee payments. To be eligible for the Fund, a homeowner must be delinquent on those payments. Priority will be given to those homeowners most at risk for foreclosure. The program will be financed through both the American Rescue Plan Act and the CARES ACT Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF).
The new eviction moratorium and Emergency Foreclosure Prevention Fund build on the City’s ongoing measures to protect both renters and homeowners, including allocating $50 million to the Rental Relief Fund, distributing more than $19 million to 3,500 households around the City at a pace exceeding state and national averages. The recently expanded Office of Housing Stability has also connected Boston residents to state housing relief resources. To date, a total of 12,500 Boston households have received $72 million in state and City housing stability assistance.
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