eviction moratorium

Following a state-level ban on evictions that expired in October 2020 and a federal ban that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in August, acting Mayor Kim Janey on Aug. 31 announced a municipal eviction moratorium for the city of Boston.

When Gov. Charlie Baker let Massachusetts’ eviction moratorium expire last October, he said he had a plan to keep residents from being thrown out of their homes. His Eviction Diversion Initiative would spend nearly $200 million on relief for tenants and landlords and fund legal assistance during eviction proceedings, as opposed to maintaining a ban that simply kept the courts from processing eviction filings.

While many Bostonians expressed elation at the end of the state’s COVID 19 restrictions, the end of the pandemic emergency may leave some renters and homeowners without a place to live.