Struggling tenants see some relief

Eviction moratorium extended to Feb. 9 as advocates warn thousands could lose their homes next year

Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Thursday that Connecticut’s eviction moratorium, which was set to expire on Dec. 31, would be extended through Feb. 9.

“We tried to put together packages that work for both landlords and tenants, and that’s whyI needed a little extra time to build that out,” Lamont said. “And if we get the additional money coming from the feds, I think this extended period of non-eviction will give them a lot more time to come up with a partnership, how this gets paid and how [tenants] get current.”

The extension comes amid revelations that thousands of Connecticut households could lose their homes in 2021, according to housing advocates.

“Extending the eviction moratorium is needed to prevent the widespread evictions, with all their adverse consequences, that will take place in its absence,” said Kiley Gosselin, executive director for the Partnership for Strong Communities, said in a letter sent to Lamont by more than 100 non-profit organizations, business leaders, legal experts, lenders and builders earlier this month.

“An adequately funded emergency rental assistance program which provides funds directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant is the necessary complement to the eviction moratorium and the only way to avert a rental market and eviction crisis.”

The letter also requests that the Lamont dedicate $100 million to the state’s emergency rental assistance program.

Landlords, many of whom have already deferred much-needed maintenance, could lose their properties, while municipalities might see decreased tax revenues. Ultimately, if banks begin to view multi-family units as risky investments, that sector of the housing market could crater.

Nearly 10% of Connecticut households may be at risk of eviction due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, according to a November report by the Washington, D.C.-based National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Innovation for Justice Program.

The report estimates that 66,000-to133,000 Connecticut households — close to 10% of the total number of households in the state — are at risk without federal intervention.

The evictions would trigger “a wave unsustainable downstream costs” that would “further strain the budgets of public health and social service systems,” the report states. The state’s moratorium on evictions expires Dec. 31.

Seila Mosquera-Bruno, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Housing, said she expects the federal government to put up additional resources.

“We’re trying to respond to the pandemic in the ways that we can and with the resources that we have, and I think that for