March 19, 2020
Last week, the Massachusetts Housing Court ordered a delay of ‘non-emergency’ eviction proceedings until April 22nd. If your eviction case is scheduled for any date before April 22nd, you do not have to go into court, though it may be rescheduled.
If you are a tenant and a default judgment was entered against you between March 1st and April 21st because you missed court, you can file a motion to remove the default and vacate the judgement. Before you negotiate an agreement for a judgment outside of court, you should seek legal assistance.
Additionally, several Boston affordable housing providers have voluntarily suspended all non-essential eviction proceedings amid the COVID-19 outbreak. (‘Non-essential’ means any eviction for nonpayment of rent, or for causes that do not involve crimes or lease violations that harm another person’s health and safety.)
The housing providers who have suspended evictions include:
If you have received an eviction notice, or are in the middle of eviction proceedings, call the number for your court clerk’s office to get more information about how the eviction freeze might apply to your specific case.
If you need legal assistance related to an eviction, foreclosure, or for any other reason, email us a request for a lawyer (lrs@bostonbar.org) or get referred to a lawyer online instantly here.
Additional legal information and resources are available here.
