Biden eyes eviction moratorium extension through March
Photo | Grant Welker
Voke Lofts, an apartment building on Salisbury Street in Worcester
As Massachusetts experiments with expanded monetary and legal assistance to prevent evictions during the pandemic, President-elect Joe Biden is making eviction policy a central part of his day one executive actions to address what he is describing as an "almost unprecedented housing affordability crisis."
Noting one in five renters and one in 10 homeowners with a mortgage are behind on payments, Biden is asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to consider immediately extending the federal eviction moratorium until at least March 31, and calling on Congress to provide rental assistance and extend the moratorium further. The moratorium is scheduled to expire at the end of January.
In addition, Biden is asking the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to consider extending foreclosure moratoriums for federally guaranteed mortgages until at least March 31.
On Tuesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency extended its foreclosure and eviction moratoriums until February 28, 2021, according to Biden's team, and he will call on the agency to consider extending the foreclosure moratorium further and continue forbearance applications for all loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In October, Baker let a state-imposed moratorium on evictions expire and the Legislature opted not to step in to keep it in place. Instead, the governor laid out a $171 million plan to keep tenants in their homes and support landlords as they struggle with impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a related economic relief measure, Biden is asking the Department of Education to consider immediately extending the pause on interest and principal payments for direct federal loans until at least September 30, 2021.
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