Wolf halts evictions until Aug. 31
Extended deadline eases fears; landlords, tenants can get rent aid
Alisa Baratta felt uneasy Thursday morning as she prepared for the seemingly imminent restart of evictions and foreclosures.
“We don’t have a clue yet what the scope of this is going to be,” said Baratta, executive director of Easton’s Third Street Alliance and co-chairperson of the Lehigh Valley Regional Homeless Advisory Board. “There’s definitely a strong feeling of anxiety among both tenants and landlords about what happens next.”
A few hours later, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf kicked that reckoning 53 days down the road, extending a statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to Aug. 31 rather than letting it lapse Friday.
His decision followed the Pennsylvania Housing Financing Agency’s bumpy launch Monday of a $150 million rental assistance program and a $25 million mortgage assistance program. Democratic lawmakers and community organizations had called for the moratorium extension, arguing it was the least the administration could do to ensure residents would have time to apply for financial relief programs and to earn money now that the
economy has, at least temporarily, reopened.
The extension, they argued, would also give the state government more time to come up with a plan to provide more meaningful assistance.
While the extension was “desperately needed,” said State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, an Allentown Democrat, the PHFA’s rent relief program represents “a drop in the bucket” of need facing renters and homeowners. While some are returning to work, others will sorely miss the federal $600 weekly unemployment supplement set to cease in late July.
Schlossberg hopes his colleagues will consider a bill package he introduced that would, among other things, prohibit late fees on rent payments and require landlords to offer a payment plan option to tenants who lost income because of the pandemic.
“Even a longer moratorium is not sustainable in the long run,” he said. “We need to figure out a smooth transition to get people up and running.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, about 1 in 5 Pennsylvania adults during the last week of June experienced housing insecurity, meaning they either missed the last month’s rent or mortgage payment or had little confidence in paying the next month’s on time.
Renters make up nearly a third of households statewide and more than half of households in Allentown. Nearly 3.5 million people in Pennsylvania rent, estimates Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, which tracks evictions in each state and assesses states’ coronavirus housing policies. The Eviction Lab gives Pennsylvania a middling grade, praising Wolf’s initial moratorium but warning of a “surge of evictions” after the order expires if further action is not taken.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Wolf, Make the Road Pennsylvania and other organizations called for a rent freeze and mortgage payment deferral.
“Housing is health care, and housing is a human right,” the coalition argues. “In the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic, the ability to shelter and be safe at home is lifesaving, something that shouldn’t be reserved just for those wealthy enough to continue paying rent.”
Help with rent
According to the PHFA’s program guidelines, renters can secure up to $750 a month, and $4,500 for a period of six months. The funds (first come, first served) are paid directly to landlords. An important caveat: If a landlord chooses to accept the awarded funds, they cannot ask renters for additional rent even if the funds don’t cover the full rent. They also must agree not to evict tenants until 60 days after the final assistance payment.
To qualify for assistance, renters must prove they lost their job or at least 30% of their annual income because of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, annual income can’t exceed the area median family income — approximately $78,000. Married couples must apply jointly, while nonmarried roommates can apply separately (though combined assistance cannot exceed total rent).
PHFA has identified organizations in all 67 counties to process the large number of rent relief applications anticipated.
In Lehigh County, renters can work with the Hispanic American Organization, Catholic Charities or the Lehigh Conference of Churches.
In Northampton County, New Bethany Ministries is processing applications for residents of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township, Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township; the Easton Area Neighborhood Center and Project of Easton are helping Easton residents; and the Third Street Alliance is processing applications for all other county residents.
Applications will be accepted until Sept. 30. More information is at phfa.org.
Edna Lopez, a housing program case manager for the Hispanic American Organization, said 117 people are on a waiting list there for rental assistance. Many others have called seeking help but don’t meet the program’s 30% income reduction requirement, she said. They’re encouraged to apply for onemonth rental assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter program, or to call 211 to connect with the United Way’s referral database.
Even if struggling renters suspect the PHFA program won’t work out for them, Baratta recommends they reach out to the organizations to figure out other financial sources for which they may qualify.
Christine Rinker, housing director for the Lehigh Conference of Churches, said renters, landlords and magistrates have inundated the organization with calls this week about the program. For renters who don’t qualify, the organization coaches them on negotiating a payment plan with landlords and directs them to other potential resources.
She noted that the program hinges on landlords buying in and that, so far, they have been.
“If the landlord’s livelihood is real estate, these are tough times for them, too,” she said. “They also have to figure out how to pay bills.”
Liston Vitales considers himself lucky despite the trying times. The Center City Allentown resident and lifelong laborer was already out of work recovering from stomach surgery when the pandemic started. While Vitales was unable to get rental assistance, the Conference of Churches and Catholic Charities helped him get secure Medicaid and food stamps, and to navigate the unemployment compensation process.
Vitales, 58, has been paying as much rent as he could but is still about two months behind. Fortunately, he said, his landlord has appreciated his hardship and been receptive to working out a payment plan.
“I feel like I’m getting back on my feet, or at least not falling further,” he said.
Avoiding eviction
The federal coronavirus relief law offers deeper protections for renters of properties with federally backed mortgages and properties that participate in subsidy programs covered by the Violence
Against Women Act, such as the Section 8 voucher program and public housing.
If a landlord with a federally backed mortgage decides to evict a tenant for unpaid rent, they cannot start eviction proceedings until Aug. 26, and must issue a 30-day notice to vacate before filing an eviction. They also cannot charge late fees for past due rent accrued March 27 to July 25.
Lori Molloy, executive director of North Penn Legal Services, a nonprofit providing civil legal services to low-income residents, said she’s concerned some landlords with federally backed mortgages will not wait until late August, and that the state Supreme Court has not developed a process to ensure the federal moratorium is followed.
She’s hopeful most landlords will voluntarily work with tenants to use the rent relief program or other avenues of assistance rather than turning to the courts. But she is bracing for a “surge of eviction filings,” given the calls she’s received from people struggling to navigate the state unemployment system plus the number of families who’ve fallen behind on rent in recent months.
Courts try to help
Nonprofits are teaming up with government and district courts to help those who do end up in court.
Last year, with the Lehigh Valley already facing an increase in homelessness, Baratta and Catholic Charities leader Rob Nicolella met with other organizations to develop a comprehensive prevention program. When the pandemic arrived, the urgency grew.
Last week, the coalition announced an “eviction conciliation” program to cover back rent using public and private donations and help with negotiations between landlords and tenants.
Once a landlord files an eviction notice, district judges in both counties will alert both landlord and tenant to the partnership’s services, which also includes legal aid provided by Molloy’s staff at North Penn. Landlord or tenant can reach out to one of the partnering organizations ahead of time to avoid costly court fees.
“Our shelters and broader homelessness system was pretty much maxed out prior to COVID,” Baratta said. “The pandemic is going to exacerbate our challenges if we don’t intervene as much as we can now.”