For a PDF view of this update click here.

ADDRESSING CLIENTS’ NEEDS DURING

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

April 2, 2020

  • Have a question? Review our COVID-19 FAQ here.
  • Need to have your subsidized rent recalculated due to income loss? The Rent Recalculation Request tool can be accessed here in Spanish and English.

What happened on April 1, 2020:

  • Outreach: Executive Director, Erin Kemple, did an interview with News 12 Connecticut regarding the problems tenants are facing in paying rent.  You can see the interview here.
  • Outreach: Staff has produced a comprehensive FAQ for tenants and advocates on what how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting tenants and how to respond.  The FAQs can be accessed here.
  • Outreach: Staff created a Rent Recalculation Request letter generator to help tenants living in subsidized housing ask that they rent be reduced as the result of a loss in come.  The Rent Recalculation Request tool can be accessed here in Spanish and English.
  • Municipal Tax Sales: The Governor has ordered that all municipal tax sales (via Executive Order 7S) – out-of-court foreclosure actions for unpaid taxes – be postponed till no earlier than 30 days after the end of the civil preparedness and public health emergency. He has also extended all redemption periods associated with tax sales that already happened for the length of the emergencies. More than 100 municipalities conduct tax foreclosures through this method (rather than going through the courts), and five had tax sales planned for April till the Governor had issued his order.
  • Evictions: As of 3.11.2020 when the COVID-19 public health care crisis hit Connecticut 700 evictions have been filed with Connecticut’s courts, 516 have been filed since 3.16.2020 when the State’s judicial department halted the issuance of executions. 
  • Help for nonprofits addressing the COVID-19 crisis: A group of Connecticut philanthropists has raised $10 million and formed a nonprofit charitable organization to aid people who are experiencing hardship as a result of the coronavirus and its associated shutdown of businesses. For more information, click here.
  • Legislative session: For information on effect of COVID-19 on the 2020 legislative session, click here.
  • Real estate tax forbearance, and collection actions: The Governor’s Executive Order 7S requires municipalities (1) to relax documentation requirements for property tax exemptions for the elderly and (2) to enact one or both of two options for providing temporary tax forbearance of property tax collection and reduced interest on delinquent tax payments to property owners under certain conditions, including that landlords agree extend commensurate forbearance to commercial, residential, or institutional tenants for the duration of the deferment.
  • Outreach: The Center’s website doubled the number of views it receives in one day to more than 1,241 unique views on COVID-19 resources.
  • Outreach: Staff distributed this daily housing update to over 500 advocates and have more than 600 unique hits daily on the update on our website.  If you want this daily update delivered to your inbox, click here.

What has NOT happened:

  • Help for tenants who cannot pay their rent, they are still receiving notices to quit and summary process complaints. As a result, tenants are likely to spread the coronavirus as they are forced from their homes and take refuge with family or friends or try to access homeless shelters. Effective assistance for tenants includes:
    • Money to pay rent or utility bills for people whose employment is affected by the COVID-19 crisis;
    • Money for utility shut-off restoration once the moratorium ends and people are again faced with loss of utilities;
    • Stopping all of phases of the eviction process for all tenants including issuing notices to quit, filing of summary process actions, court hearings, eviction judgments, and court ordered move outs;
    • Prohibition of late fees;
    • Making automatic adjustments to subsidized rents;
    • Setting reasonable time limits on landlord access to rental units;
    • Creation of a rent bank to help tenants who have lost their jobs pay rent;
    • Announcing self-help evictions are not allowed now that the courts are closed.
    • Ensure judgments dismissing summary process cases are being entered.
    • Keeping the eviction moratorium in effect long enough to allow tenants whose income was reduced to apply for and obtain any relief benefits;
    • Additional lawyers to represent tenants in evictions and homeowners in foreclosure filed after the current moratoriums on filing new cases is lifted;
    • Housing counselors who can advise tenants and homeowners of the resources available to them to keep their homes after the current moratoriums are lifted as well as to avoid scams that may result in them losing money and their housing;
    • Additional mediators for Connecticut’s Foreclosure Mediation Program to assist the homeowners who will be faced with foreclosure actions once the moratorium on filing new foreclosure cases is lifted;
  • There has been no effort to get housing authorities to notify their tenants of new procedures and requests for rent calculations during the current pandemic. A review of housing authority websites to determine what they were telling their tenants about COVID-19 procedures and whether there was any information in Spanish. The majority still have no information about changes to housing authority procedures in light of the current crisis. Click here for a summary of what we have found.
  • People continue to live in substandard conditions and cannot get assistance in moving out even though the conditions are harming them and their families.

What we are learning from our clients

  • Tenants continue to call because they are being asked to show their apartments to prospective tenants without regard to COVID-19 precautions. The Center is advising tenants that under Connecticut landlord/tenant laws they have the right to refuse entrance to anyone if it would cause a safety hazard.
  • Tenants continue to call the Center asking if they will be evicted because they have been laid off, are not receiving unemployment benefits yet, and are unable to pay the rent.
  • Landlords continue to issue notices to quit.
  • Landlords continue to file summary process complaints. 700 new summary process cases have been filed since the governor issued an order closing Connecticut’s courts.
  • Real estate agents have contacted the Center saying they will not show units to people who are infected or who the agents suspect are infected with the virus.
  • Tenants with housing choice vouchers are having difficulty being recertified or porting their vouchers.
  • Mortgage servicers continue to file foreclosure complaints.
  • People without legal status continue to face deportation and are unable to access services to stay in their homes.
  • People who were laid off from their jobs as the result of the pandemic are moving in with parents and friends sometimes causing overcrowding or lease violations. Foreclosures of homeowners will now affect many more people.

Get Help

  • Tenants who cannot pay rent: The courts are closed for most matters but that has not stopped landlords from sending notices to quit or serving summary process complaints.  For questions about what to do or what will happen when a tenant does not pay rent, click here.
  • Subsidized tenants: Tenants living in subsidized housing or who pay their rent with a RAP or Section 8 voucher can ask their landlords to recalculate the rent they pay if their income has gone down.  Click here to use the Center’s rent recalculation letter generator in Spanish and English.
  • Help for homeowners: No matter who provided the mortgage or who is servicing the loan, homeowners should contact the mortgage company and review its website for programs that may be available to help. You might also want to (1) contact a CHFA-approved housing counselor for assistance in learning about your options. Find contact information here; (2) call the Department of Banking’s Mortgage Foreclosure Assistance Hotline at 877-472-8313 for information about a broad range of programs; (3) request a copy of or review our guide for homeowners facing foreclosure. To request that a copy be mailed to you, click here or click here to view an on-line copy; and (4) when the public health emergency is lifted, attend one of our Home Mortgage classes. The schedule can be found here or talk to an attorney through the Judicial Branch’s Volunteer Attorney Program. Click here to find out more and to find out if you have a Fannie Mae mortgage or here to find out more and to find out if you have a Freddie Mac mortgage.
  • Health insurance: There is still time to enroll in Access Health CT to get health insurance.  This is a new Special Enrollment period that will be open through April 2, 2020. Enrollment is available by phone only.  The Access Health call center will be helping people enroll Monday through Friday, from 8am to 5pm. Dial 855-805-4325 (TTY: 1- 855-365-2428) to begin your enrollment.
  • Mental health: If you’re struggling with your mental health during this crisis, you are not alone. Text SHARE to 741741 for free, 24/7 support from the Crisis Text Line.
  • Domestic Violence: In Connecticut, we have a network of domestic violence programs that can be accessed 24/7 by calling 888-774-2900. The programs provide shelter for victims of domestic violence, as well as counseling and other support services.
  • Help with COVID-19 programs: To get help from a Hartford Courant reporter who is troubleshooting access to COVID-19 relief resources, click here.
  • Education: For help with on-line learning and the issues faced by people with limited access to education resources, click here.
  • Federal COVID-19 relief: For a list of assistance available from the federal government, click here. This page is updated frequently so continue to check back.
  • Assistance for people with disabilities: For people with disabilities, there is a list of resources here.
  • Report housing discrimination: Call the Center if you think you have been the victim of housing discrimination. Telephone: 860-247-4400; toll free: 888-246-4401; email: info@ctfairhousing.org.
  • COVID-19 resources in Connecticut: For a list of places to find help with anything from food pantries to legal assistance to energy assistance, click here.
  • Assistance applying for unemployment or Medicaid: For help applying for unemployment benefits or Medicaid: Several Trinity College students have volunteered to help people apply for unemployment benefits. Email them here: Wilson@trincoll.edu; Larisa.Bogomolov@trincoll.edu; Elizabeth.Morrison@trincoll.edu; or Rebecca.Pappas@trincoll.edu

 

 

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