Supreme Court action on eviction ban has created confusion, anxiety
LEGAL AID FOR TENANTS
On Aug. 26, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a CDC moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent. New Hampshire tenants who had protection from non-payment evictions are again vulnerable to being made homeless.
However, evictions happened even during the moratorium. As executive director of 603 Legal Aid, I saw a brief preview of what we’re facing now at the beginning of this month.
With great fanfare, Concord students returned to class.
Cory, a single dad of two daughters, called us from a hotel desperate for help. He had fallen several months behind on rent after cutting back on work during the pandemic to supervise his girls’ remote school. He filed a declaration of protection under the moratorium but missed some paperwork for a court deadline. The afternoon before he called us, his landlord changed the locks on their door.
Cory connected with his city welfare office, found temporary shelter for his family and was told to call us. I’m so glad he did. Paralegal Steve McGilvary helped Cory put together a motion to recall the writ of possession because of the CDC protections, and less than 24 hours after being locked out, he received permission to reenter his home.
“Because of legal aid, I’m now aware of my rights, aware of the rights of a landlord, and I’m not living in the streets,” Cory told us. “I’m absolute proof that legal aid wants to help, wants justice served and wants families living in a safe environment. More importantly, I’m proof that New Hampshire’s legal aid system works.”
I’m honored by Cory’s faith in us. His case was one of the “easy ones” because he had clear protection under the CDC moratorium. The landscape is harsher now for tenants. And the hardest part now for us is knowing that we do not have the capacity to help everyone who calls us. So here are a few crucial pieces of information:
Only a judge can issue an eviction order (also called a writ of possession). Only a sheriff can carry out this order and remove someone from their home.
Anyone who has been made homeless has the right to apply for help paying for shelter from their town or city welfare office. State law requires every town and city to provide such emergency relief to any person in need who applies. Anyone who has already applied for such help with their town and city and has been denied is invited to call 603 Legal Aid for help.
But things don’t have to go that far for someone to find help. Though the CDC protections are currently no longer available, there are many other potential legal defenses to an eviction case. We invite any tenant who has been served with an eviction notice or already has an eviction case pending in court to call or apply online for help.
And we urge any tenant behind on rent to apply immediately for housing relief funds via their Community Action Program. You can begin the online application process at capnh.org/covidlookup-app.
In their decision, the majority of the Supreme Court justices wrote that the CDC exceeded its authority with its temporary ban. They added, “If a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it.”
No one can predict whether or not the eviction moratorium will be reinstated. Stay tuned to the news for any future developments on the eviction moratorium.
Sonya Bellafant is executive director of 603 Legal Aid.
