Contact Your State Reps to Oppose Permanent COVID-Era Eviction Policies
Dear SPOA Members and Supporters,
Please contact your State Representatives to oppose a plan making COVID "eviction protection" permanent! This temporary law, known as Chapter 257, was implemented at the peak of the pandemic, before expiring in March. While tenant activists sought to extend it until July 2024, various representatives in the Massachusetts House are proposing to reinstate it PERMANENTLY!
During the height of the pandemic, tenants had little incentive to cooperate with property owners who offered them flexible payment arrangements. Combined with the inefficiency of government aid programs, like RAFT, this brought tremendous hardship to small landlords, in particular, who were trying to keep their heads above water. So why are some elected officials trying to make this flawed, temporary measure permanent -- when the worst of the pandemic is behind us?
If you look below, we have provided a letter that you can copy and paste into an email to your state representatives. Below the letter is a link to look up your representatives in the House, along with their contact information. Please contact them via phone, as well as email, to voice your opposition to making Chapter 257 permanent.
Within the letter below, you will be voicing support for Budget Amendment 933 (Rental Housing Provider Protection) — as crafted by State Rep. David DeCoste of Norwell, who came to our aid.
Your continued involvement is crucial to protecting our property rights! Please use the letter below:
Dear State Representative _________,
I am writing to ask you to support Budget Amendment 933 (Rental Housing Provider Protection), which will allow COVID era eviction practices to end. I strongly oppose making COVID era eviction protection (aka Chapter 257) permanent. This will devastate housing providers in the rental property business — especially small landlords in particular.
During the height of the pandemic, there were tenants who had little incentive to cooperate with property owners who offered them flexible payment arrangements. While we appreciated the government’s effort to provide aid through programs like RAFT, these programs resulted in long, drawn-out processes that made it more difficult for housing providers to keep their heads above water. We do not understand why some elected officials are trying to make this flawed, temporary measure permanent -- when the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Small business owners like us should not have to live in fear of losing our businesses when we provide a valuable service to our tenants and our communities.
We also understand that RAFT is drying up and that funding for it will decrease going forward. The courts are already incredibly slow and difficult -- and they will give bad tenants reprieve after reprieve, even if/when they don’t show up for court hearings ... on account of nervous breakdowns, or any other excuse they come up with. There are tenants who are behind in rent for a full year or more, owing tens of thousands of dollars, who have remained in place without making payment. How can any small landlord survive this situation?
Please vote for Amendment 933 and against making Chapter 257 permanent! Please also let your colleagues and House Leadership know that instead of extending outdated policies, we should focus on creating rental aid programs where property owners will receive funds directly, in order to streamline the process and remove the tenants as the middlemen. Please respect the rights and the dignity of rental property owners throughout the Commonwealth, in order to benefit housing providers and tenants alike.
Please contact your state representatives to oppose this measure TODAY! You can find your representative using the directory below:
SPOA is a landlord advocacy organization made up of volunteers. Our response to this crisis will be determined by our funding. In order to combat this intrusion into private housing we need your support. Please financially support our efforts today - the consequences of these actions may be dire. Housing providers must push back against these dire threats to our industry. Please donate what you can today, or send checks to “SPOA, Inc.” at 840 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02127.
Small Property Owners Association (SPOA)