Page 8 - New England Condominium January 2021

8 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -JANUARY 2021 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM Building EnvelopeYour Restoration Specialists Since 1981, Alpha Weatherproofing Corp. has served building owners and property managers throughout New England with comprehensive weatherproofing and building envelope restoration services. AFTER BEFORE • Concrete Restoration • Façade Inspection & Repair Specialty Coatings • Masonry Restoration • Sealant Removal & Replacement • Parking Garage Repair & Traffic Coatings • Historic Restoration • • Waterproofing Systems • Roofing & Roof Maintenance • Structural Repairs • Emergency Repairs 617-628-8888 www.weatherproofing.net • Request a free consultation • View projects • Sign up for our e-newsletter Unlike the Massachusetts moratorium, which flatly prohibited all eviction-related actions and procedures, the CDC order al- lows landlords and property managers to issue notices to quit and non-renewal no- tices and serve execution orders to remove tenants from the premises for all evictions. It is important to note: The tenant affidavit applies only to evictions for non-payment of rent; it does not apply to and cannot be used to block evictions for other causes. The CDC order also rips open the court- house doors the Massachusetts moratori- um had closed. As a result, Massachusetts courts are now accepting summary process summons and complaints for all evictions, following procedures detailed in “Housing Court Standing Orders” the Massachusetts Judiciary issued recently. These orders represent “an effort to ac- commodate the significant influx of sum- mary process cases that will proceed in the Trial Court following the expiration of the moratorium, and to provide opportunities for landlords and tenants to access resourc- es.” Among the key procedural points: • Courts will now process eviction ac- tions for non-payment of rent (which they could not do under the state moratorium), primarily affect rental property owners unless tenants have submitted the affidavit and property managers, community as- required by the CDC rules, affirming that sociations may feel its effects—directly (if their delinquency results from the adverse the association owns units that are rented impacts of the pandemic. Landlords who to residential tenants) or indirectly, if inves- receive this affidavit cannot pursue eviction tors rent the units they own. actions and the courts won’t consider them. • For non-payment cases, the new evic- tion protocols require landlords themselves investor-owned units are much more com- to submit an affidavit at every step of the mon, and investor owners would be subject eviction process (summons, complaints, to the CDC rules. Owners who depend motions for summary judgment, request- ing and serving executions) affirming un- der pains and penalties of perjury that they monthly condominium fees, and associa- have not received a tenant affidavit citing tions with a large percentage of investor the pandemic’s adverse effects as the reason owners could see a surge in delinquent pay- for their delinquency. • The judiciary’s “outstanding orders” do not indicate how the courts will respond if tion under the state moratorium would tenants submit the required CDC affidavit have made it difficult for condo associations late in the eviction process, after a landlord to deal with troublesome tenants. Under the has initiated legal action. But that uncer- tainty notwithstanding, the CDC rules give ants unless their behavior endangered the property owners far more latitude than the health or safety of other residents. Boards state moratorium provided to deal with could pressure owners to deal with problem non-paying tenants. Like the now-expired state eviction mor- atorium, the CDC rules specify that tenants grounds (which now allow landlords to ter- are not relieved of their obligation to pay minate tenancies for any material breach of rent and that landlords will be allowed to the lease agreement) eliminate what could collect all accumulated rent when the mor- atorium is lifted. The CDC regulations also allow landlords to add penalties and inter- est to the total outstanding balance. That may be a moot point, however. Even the eviction restrictions will remain in ef- if landlords can tack on penalties and inter- est, it is unlikely that a court considering a the financial pressures on rental property post-pandemic eviction action would allow owners and the greater the risk that at least them. It is even more unlikely that most some community associations may have to tenants facing four or five months or more of accumulated rent payments will have the resources to pay that debt, with or with- out the addition of interest and penalties. The more likely scenario is an avalanche of eviction actions and clogged courts. Some landlords may negotiate payment plans with their tenants; most will probably seek to regain possession of the units in the hope of re-renting them quickly. Anticipating the financial burdens on tenants unable to pay several months of back rent, and on landlords unable to col- lect the rents on which they depend, the state has thrown both something of a life- line. The “Eviction Diversion Initiative” Governor Baker announced recently allows landlords who own fewer than 20 units to seek emergency rental assistance from the Residential Assistance for Families in Tran- sition (RAFT) program. That program pre- viously offered assistance only to tenants, capped at a maximum of $4,000 per house- hold. The new program allows landlords to apply, with the consent of their tenants, for a maximum of $10,000 per household, provided that the tenancy will be preserved for at least six months or (for households with school-aged children) until June 2021, whichever is longer. Impacts on Community Associations Although the eviction restrictions will Some Massachusetts condominium as- sociations directly own rental units, but on the rental income may not be able to make their mortgage payments or pay their ments as a result. The extremely narrow grounds for evic- state rules, unit owners could not evict ten- tenants, but they could not force owners to violate the law. The CDC’s broader eviction have been a problem for many associations. The critical question—a question no one can answer—is when the pandemic will end (or be deemed under control) and how long fect. The longer that timeline, the greater CDC EVICTION... continued from page 7