September 24, 2020

What happened since September 17, 2020:

Judicial Branch is scheduling hearings on the issuance of executions:  Beginning the week of September 14, the Judicial Branch began scheduling hearings in eviction cases where an execution has been requested by a landlord. The tenant is supposed to receive notice from court staff which provides instructions on how to participate in a remote hearing either by video or phone.

Tenants encountering problems with execution issuance hearings—The Judicial Branch has been sending notices to tenants that they should appear at a remote hearing if they wished to oppose the issuance of an execution in a summary process case. The issues tenants are facing when trying to prevent the issuance of an execution include:

  • Delay or not receiving the mailed notice so they are missing the date of the hearing, and the court issues an execution;
  • Hearing notices are not translated for people with LEP;
  • Tenants given only 5 days’, or less, notice of a hearing from the date of the mailing to the date of the hearing;
  • Tenants receive notice of the remote hearing, but the notice does not include the date and time of the hearing, nor does the subsequent email to the tenant with instructions include a link to use to log onto the remote hearing;
  • Hearing notices tell tenants to call the clerk’s office to receive information about how to participate in a remote hearing and the clerk’s office is closed;
  • Judges are not determining if tenants were ever contacted by the Court regarding notice of the hearing;
  • Judges are not asking if the landlord gave the tenant notice of the CDC moratorium;
  • Tenants who have given their landlord a CDC declaration are challenged by landlords who say the declaration was not true;
  • When an attorney for the landlord did not show up, the Court called him and allowed him to join the remotely hearing late. No calls made to tenants when they do not appear.

What should tenants do?

If a tenant receives notice that their landlord has requested the issuance of an execution, the tenant should begin by reading the CDC declaration requirements a tenant must meet to qualify for the CDC moratorium. If the tenant meets the qualifications, then every person over 18 in the household should fill out a declaration and give it to the LANDLORD and the court. Information about the declaration and how to create one are also available in Spanish. In addition, there are on-line forms that can be found here and here that can generate the CDC declaration. If the tenant gives their landlord a copy of the declaration, this will stop the landlord from using an execution to move the tenant out.

However, tenants must also attend the remote hearing either by video or electronically. The notice to the tenant about the request for the execution should also include an email address where the tenant can get answers to questions regarding remote hearings. 

Judge denies landlord the right to use an execution when tenant has filed a CDC declaration—A Housing Court judge in New Haven has refused to issue an execution because the tenant filed a CDC declaration even though the nonpayment of rent occurred prior to March 1, 2020.

TRHAP program closed indefinitely: DOH’s rental assistance program TRHAP is no longer accepting applications. It is unclear if the program will open again. If you are unsure if you have completed an application, you can contact trhapinfo@ct.gov. Include your name and address in the mail and the approximate date you made the application for TRHAP.

Mortgage Foreclosure

Judicial Branch is scheduling hearings on the issuance of executions:  Beginning the week of September 14, the Judicial Branch will schedule hearings in foreclosure cases where an execution has been requested by the new owner of the property. The homeowner will receive notice from court staff who will provide instructions on how to participate in a remote hearing either by video or electronically.

What should homeowners do?

Foreclosure advice: The Center is holding Foreclosure Advice Virtual Sessions. Homeowners facing foreclosure can sign up for advice sessions over video or phone, and get some individualized questions answered in a way that they could at our in-person clinics or through the Judicial Branch’s Volunteer Attorney Program. The program began on August 7, with 8 slots weekly and will expand if there’s enough demand from homeowners and capacity for us. Homeowners can sign up, answer a few short questions, and be set up with an appointment. These Sessions are in addition to the considerable amount of videos and materials available at www.ctfairhousing.org.

Apply for T-MAP on-line:  The number of successful applications for the State’s TMAP program remains low and to date, only 23 have been found to be eligible. TMAP now has an on-line application in English. It has not yet been translated into Spanish. To apply for assistance by telephone, call 1-860-785-3111. For more information about the program, click here

Six months into the pandemic, two families have received rental assistance:  Recently released information from DOH reveals that only two families have received aid in the five months since state officials established a program to help those struggling to pay rent during the pandemic, leaving a backlog of nearly 7,400 applications and growing frustration about the slow pace of the approval process.

 Advocates ask Governor Lamont to extend the Connecticut eviction moratorium through December 31:  Housing advocates from around the state have asked the Governor to extend Connecticut’s eviction moratorium until December 31, a date consistent with the CDC moratorium, and to include cases that went to judgment before the courts closed on April 10. Connecticut’s eviction moratorium does not require the filing of a declaration and would also stop the Court’s continued issuances of executions. The Governor has not yet responded.

 Connecticut State Senators ask Governor Lamont for more rental assistance:  On September 18, nine State Senators asked Governor Lamont to increase funding for the TRHAP program by $10 million. To date, the Governor has not responded and the TRHAP program remains closed.

 Uber for evictions:  Seizing on a pandemic-driven nosedive in employment and huge uptick in number-of-people-who-can’t-pay-their-rent, a new company called Civvl aims to make it easy for landlords to hire process servers and eviction agents as gig workers. Gig workers assist landlords in moving people out, serving paperwork, and generally ensuring that evictions take place.

 What we are hearing from our clients:

  • Tenants who were told they qualify for assistance from TRHAP have heard nothing about when their landlord will receive payments.
  • Tenants who have been approved for rental payments through TRHAP have been told by their landlord that no payments have been received.
  • Landlords continue to harass tenants about leaving if they owe rent even if the tenant has given the landlord a CDC declaration.
  • The TRHAP program does not have a TTY line making it difficult for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to apply for benefits.
  • Tenants continue to seek assistance on how to pay their rent when they have lost their income due to COVID-19.
  • Landlords are raising rents in response to housing shortage cause by inflow of new residents into Connecticut.
  • Tenants are being threatened with eviction because their children are home all day creating noise in the apartment building.
  • Tenants using housing subsidies to pay their rent continue to face source of income discrimination.

Outreach

  • Public Official Outreach: Center staff continue to participate in Facebook Live, community Zoom meetings, and tele-townhalls with legislative officials. If you would like our assistance reaching your constituency, please contact our outreach coordinator shussain@ctfairhousing.org.
  • Staff continue to hold fair housing trainings and COVID-19 housing resource workshops via Zoom with social service agencies, direct service providers, and invested stakeholders. If your agency would find a short resource webinar or fair housing training helpful during this crisis please contact Shaznene Hussain, the Center’s Education and Outreach Coordinator, at Shussain@ctfairhousing.org.

Resources for tenants and homeowners:

  • Click here to understand current tenant rent relief options in Spanish and English.
  • Click here to find more details in our tenant FAQ.
  • Click here to understand current rights for homeowners in Spanish and English.
  • Click here to understand how fair housing can protect you during the COVID-19 crisis. (Our guidance is now available in 11 languages.)
  • Need to have your subsidized rent recalculated due to income loss? The Rent Recalculation Request tool can be accessed here in Spanish and English.
  • To sign up for our weekly update fill out the form

More COVID-19 resources can be found on our website here.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR FAIR HOUSING RIGHTS IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, MANDARIN, VIETNAMESE, FARSI, RUSSIAN, ITALIAN, KREYOL, ARABIC, KHMER, AND TAGALOG, CLICK HERE.

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