On April 20th Massachusetts Governor Baker signed a housing security bill to prevent evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The moratorium as enacted prevents Landlords from commencing any court eviction process until 120 days from date of signing the bill or 45 days after the State of Emergency is lifted. The act also prohibits a Landlord from serving a Notice to Quit upon a tenant during this moratorium. While it does not absolve tenants from their rent responsibilities it does prevent the imposition of late penalties as long as the tenants can demonstrate their inability to pay was the result of hardships caused by the pandemic.
The bill also prevents lenders from initiating foreclosure proceedings during the same time frame as well as prohibits the imposition of late fees for missed mortgage payments (again with the caveat that the borrower must demonstrate hardship from the pandemic causing their inability to timely pay).
We will keep this blog up to date with any legislative actions affecting real estate taken during this pandemic.
