COVID

Landlords for thousands of rentals in Mass. sign pledge to pause evictions

The property owners agreed to halt evictions for failure to pay rent until 2021.

By Dialynn Dwyer

November 3, 2020

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Several major landlords signed a pledge this week agreeing to pause evictions of tenants for failure to pay rent until 2021, State House News Service reports. 

The Greater Boston Real Estate Board announced Monday that at least 10 property companies, including Chestnut Hill Realty, Avalon Communities Inc., and Winn Residential, signed the board’s housing stability pledge consenting to work with tenants struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic and communicate about emergency support programs to help with rent. 

Advocates have been raising concerns about a surge in evictions in Massachusetts after Gov. Charlie Baker chose to let the eviction moratorium, first implemented in April, expire in October. 

“With this pledge, we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to support tenants and to ensure owners don’t have to resort to eviction of those who are not able to pay their rent because of financial hardship due to COVID-19,” Greg Vasil, the board’s CEO, said in a press release obtained by the SHNS. “We stand with our members who have been working with their residents in good faith and have taken this pledge to continue to maintain housing stability across Massachusetts throughout the pandemic.”

According to SHNS, the landlords represent thousands of rental units in Massachusetts and more than 300,000 across the country.