CT Coronavirus Updates: Rent, Mortgage Assistance Plans Revealed

Brian McCready
·3 min read

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont's executive order aimed at helping renters during the coronavirus pandemic has been signed into law.

“During this crisis, these protections will allow residents to stay safe at home, while prohibiting landlords from charging late fees or interest for nonpayment and provide a buffer for the next couple of months,” Lamont said. “Residential renters need to have added safeguards during times of emergency like this – they have rights and we will see to it that they are protected.”

Here are the main points of the executive order:

  • All landlords are prohibited from issuing a notice to quit or beginning eviction proceedings before July 1, 2020, except for serious nuisance, such as physically harming another tenant or the landlord.

  • For rent due in April 2020, landlords must grant tenants an automatic, 60-day grace period for payment, instead of the existing 9-day grace period.

  • For rent due in May 2020, landlords must grant a 60-day grace period for payment upon the request of tenants. Under this provision, a tenant must to notify the landlord that they have lost a job, lost hours, or otherwise lost revenue or faced significant increased expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • If a tenant has a paid security deposit of more than one month’s rent, the tenant can apply all or part of that excess to April, May, or June rent. Under this provision, the tenant must notify the landlord that they have lost a job, lost hours, or otherwise lost revenue or faced significant increased expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mortgage assistance also offered

Last week, Lamont announced that his administration reached an agreement with over 50 credit unions and banks in Connecticut to offer mortgage relief to homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in Executive Order No. 7S, provided temporary relief regarding upcoming municipal tax payments. Homeowners should contact their lender to discuss accessing mortgage forbearance.

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Here are the details of the mortgage assistance executive order:

  • 90-day grace period for all mortgage payments: Participating financial institutions are now offering mortgage-payment forbearances of up to 90 days, which will allow homeowners to reduce or delay monthly mortgage payments. In addition, the institutions will:

    • Provide a streamlined process for requesting forbearance for COVID-19-related reasons, supported with available documentation;

    • Confirm approval and terms of forbearance program; and

    • Provide the opportunity to extend forbearance agreements if faced with continued hardship resulting from COVID-19.

  • Relief from fees and charges for 90 days: For at least 90 days, participating financial institutions will waive or refund mortgage-related late fees and other fees including early CD withdrawals.

  • No new foreclosures for 60 days: Financial institutions will not start any foreclosure sales or evictions.

  • No credit score changes for accessing relief: For those taking advantage of this COVID-19-related relief, late or missed payments will not be shared with credit reporting agencies.

More than 50 credit unions and banks statewide are participating, including Webster Bank, American Eagle Financial Credit Union, Liberty Bank, Charter Oak Federal Credit Union, Bank of America, Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union, and Peoples United Bank. Additional financial institutions are expected to join the initiative in the coming days. The Department of Banking will maintain updated list of participating institutions on its website.

This article originally appeared on the Milford Patch