For a PDF view of this update click here.

ADDRESSING CLIENTS’ NEEDS DURING

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

April 6, 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 3, 2020:

  • No help for tenants who cannot pay rent: Tenants and advocates continue to ask for financial assistance or a rent forbearance similar to what has been given to homeowners. For more information about the difference between the assistance for homeowners v. what has been done for tenants, click here.
  • Request to expand and extend the eviction moratorium: The Center, along with Connecticut Legal Services, New Haven Legal Assistance, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Open Communities Alliance, and the Yale Law School Jerome Frank Legal Services Organization sent a letter to Judge Patrick Carroll, Chief Court Administrator of the Connecticut Judicial Branch asking that the current eviction moratorium be extended beyond May 1, 2020 and be expanded to include all of phases of an eviction action from sending Notices to Quit to filing a summary process case in court.  The letter can be found here.
  • Housing authorities asked to help their tenants: The Center sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Department of Housing asking that she tell the State’s housing authorities to provide the assistance their tenants need during this time of crisis. A copy of that letter can be found here. The request was made in response to a letter sent by ConnNAHRO, the organization which represents all of Connecticut’s housing authority.  You can read that letter here.
  • HUD guidance to housing authorities: The Department of Housing and Urban Development sent guidance to housing authorities receiving federal funding that encourages housing authorities to consider what types of functions it can do remotely like recertifications and rent reductions as well as encouraging housing authorities not to evict tenants who cannot pay the rent. The guidance can be found here.
  • Housing inspections in Hartford: Mayor Luke Bronin of Hartford announced that the City’s building inspectors will be limiting on-site inspections for occupied, private residences to emergencies only, including but not limited no heat or water, carbon monoxide issues, and responding to fires. The City is still in the process of determining if other inspections can be done remotely.  For more information on Hartford City services, click here.
  • Outreach: Staff co-hosted a webinar last week to over 450 individuals answering their questions about how to protect tenants against homelessness. The webinar was co-hosted with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Connecticut Legal Services, and the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.
  • 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.
  • 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 600 advocates and had more than 600 unique hits 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;
  • Despite guidance from HUD on March 31, 2020, there has been no effort by 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

  • The majority of calls received by the Center and other housing advocates ask whether there is any assistance for tenants who cannot pay their rent.
  • Landlords continue to issue notices to quit.
  • Landlords continue to file summary process complaints. More than 700 new summary process cases have been filed since the governor declared a public health and civil preparedness emergency.
  • 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.
  • Because not all mortgage servicers are participating in the federal or state forbearance programs, homeowners continue to receive notices of default.
  • Mortgage servicers continue to file foreclosure complaints.
  • Homeowners do not know what to do when they receive a foreclosure summons and complaint since many courts and court information centers are closed.
  • 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. You can also 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

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

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER (@CTFAIRHOUSING) FOR UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY.