Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s office is poised to pour another several million dollars into its relief fund for renters in the city as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause economic uncertainty for many residents, officials announced Wednesday.
The public health crisis has led to more than 101,000 COVID-19 infections and nearly 7,100 deaths in Massachusetts. The outbreak has also sparked major financial woes for businesses and employees, leading to hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims to be filed in the commonwealth.
The City of Boston announced in early April that $3 million would go to aid residents who are at risk of losing their rental housing due to the pandemic. The money aims to help income-eligible tenants find stable living arrangements.
Walsh’s administration will now put an additional $5 million into the city’s “Rental Relief Fund" and reopen the application process at noon on Friday. The deadline to complete the initial pre-screening application is June 19, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
“During this challenging time, it is important that we leverage all resources available to ensure the health and safety of our residents, and to keep them stably housed during the COVID-19 public health crisis,” Walsh said in his statement. “We know that many Bostonians are struggling, and we know the need for assistance with housing payments remains, which is why we are proud to make available this additional funding."
The mayor’s announcements comes on the heals of a statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium that Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law in late April. The moratoriums will remain in effect until Aug. 18 or 45 days after the state of emergency ends.
The act temporarily bans landlords from issuing a notice to quit, which starts the eviction process, and prohibits courts from issuing executions. Sheriffs or constables cannot force someone to move out, and property owners are not allowed to impose late fees for not paying rent as long as tenants provide documentation proving they were not able to pay rent due to financial impacts from the coronavirus.
Boston’s new infusion of funding was part of the city’s preparations for the end of the moratoriums and aims to help keep hundreds of people in their homes during the public health crisis.
“The Boston Rental Relief Fund helps to relieve the fear and anxiety of losing your home in the midst of a pandemic and economic crisis,” said Zoe Cronin, managing attorney of the Housing Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services. “This fund is critical because it helps those most in need and those not able to access other programs.”
The city’s relief program provides up to $4,000 to individual households for 12 months. To qualify for aid residents must live in Boston and have an income at or below 80% of the area median income, which is $90,650 for a family of four, according to Walsh’s office.
Rental relief funds may be used for short-term rental assistance for up to three months. The money can be used to pay for more than a month of rent or to supplement partial payments of rent, the mayor noted.
Preference is given to qualified applicants who were not eligible for unemployment benefits or, due to the nature of their jobs, could not receive full benefits, according to Walsh.
Since the fund was announced two months ago, the city of Boston and its partner organizations - including Metro Housing|Boston, Neighborhood of Affordable Housing and Project Hope - have worked to process roughly 1,600 applications and administer funds to landlords.
“To date, over $680,000 in assistance has been disseminated to 210 households in 17 different neighborhoods to cover rent for April and May,” the mayor’s office said.
Following the creation of the fund in early April, the Walsh administration also received nearly 3,400 interest forms from residents who have sought information on the next round of funding, according to the mayor.
To better serve residents with the new round of rental relief money, the city is extending the pre-screening period by two weeks to help applicants determine their eligibility. The pre-application screening forms will be available in seven languages, and any qualified applicants from the first round who did not receive funding will automatically be entered into the second round of the fund.
“A person’s immigration status is not asked during the Rental Relief Fund application process and receiving funds does not impact other financial assistance that a person may be already receiving,” the mayor’s office said. “Additionally, assistance from the Rental Relief Fund does not affect immigration applications as a ‘public charge’ ground of inadmissibility.”
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