Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday the Massachusetts government is ready to help renters deal with evictions through a well-funded diversion program now that the federal moratorium on evictions has come to an end.
"We do have one of the more robust eviction diversion programs in the country, which we've been running since last fall when the state's eviction moratorium expired," Baker said, adding that federal pandemic relief funds have been added to the existing program, which was initially state-funded.
Baker said the diversion program is the reason the state has seen fewer applications for emergency assistance or "notices to quit," the first step in an eviction process, compared to before the pandemic.
GBH News reported last week that the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, which controls the eviction diversion program, has rejected 90% of those seeking rental assistance this year. The state explained that the vast majority of those rejections occurred because the applicant did not complete the application process — which housing advocates say is overly burdensome.
"I think we're pretty well-positioned to make sure we help people deal with some of these issues and consequences," Baker said Monday in Everett, where he toured a senior housing complex under construction and touted his ambitious agenda to spend $1 billion in federal aid on housing construction and programs.
Baker said Friday that the program has provided tenants and landlords about $280 million in rental assistance so far.
"We work very closely with our colleagues in both municipal government and a lot of the folks who work in the housing and affordable housing community to make sure that we're doing what we need to do to support those folks and help them stay in place," Baker said last week.
