What’s more, under executive order signed by Gov. “It doesn’t feel right — I feel uncomfortable because of what happened,” Shelton said. Unscrupulous landlords have been getting away with intimidating tenants and evicting them … On Feb. 26, the judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought back to court, and said Shelton should be allowed back into her apartment immediately. The New Jersey Apartment Association has lobbied hard against the People's Bill. While the federal eviction moratorium, enacted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), was set to expire at midnight on January 1, there was a collective sigh of relief as lawmakers finally passed a second COVID relief bill. Screening agencies that landlords rely on for background checks on tenants may include court filings in their reports, without providing context or the outcome in the cases. Since Murphy issued his eviction moratorium, 33 people in Newark have called the Office of Tenant Legal Services to ask for help because their landlord was illegally evicting them, said coordinator Khabirah Myers. “There are people who are honest and people who want to take advantage and [McFarland] is one of those who wants to take advantage,” Adams said. Some New Jersey landlords have been evicting tenants during COVID-19 against the New Jersey Eviction Moratorium put in place by Governor Murphy in March. On March 19, 2020, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy issued Executive Order 106, which suspended evictions throughout the state. But on Christmas, when she and her family were having their holiday dinner, the heat and electricity shut off. Murphy has said he supports the massive housing bill, but Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, has not put the bill up for a full vote, saying there were issues with it. The reasons are outlined in the order. Allissa Shelton, 57, has lived in her second floor Newark apartment for 14 years. So what is the government offering to help these struggling households? New Jersey’s Administrative Office of the Courts said it could not provide the number of times people filed in court for “forcible entry and detainer” in the last few years because it would require writing new computer queries to pull the statistics. Being evicted would make them likely to become homeless or force them to live in close quarters with others. A bill to require that protection to move payments to the end of a mortgage has languished in the Legislature for months. There are rare exceptions to the moratorium, such as when a "tenant is violent or endangering other tenants," according to the governor's office. This is called an “eviction moratorium,” and it means that, except in rare circumstances, no tenant may be removed from his or her home as a result of an eviction proceeding. She kept receiving letters addressed to “unauthorized occupants.” She called her landlord multiple times to ask about it, but he didn’t answer, Shelton said in an interview and in court documents. Her sister paid for Shelton to stay in a hotel room for a week and bought her meals while she waited for her court date. Ashley Balcerzak is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. They earned less than $99,000 in 2020, or a couple earned less than $198,000. Newark Code Enforcement issued a summons to Adams for renting out the attic as an “illegal dwelling,” according to the Newark Police Department. McFarland’s landlord had posted an eviction notice on her door a few days before the lock was changed. Therefore, the extension of the federal moratorium won’t have any impact in New Jersey as long as the state moratorium remains in place. “I should not ever be hearing that police are saying it’s a landlord-tenant matter when people are locked out of their homes,” Myers said. New Jersey courts received almost 35,000 eviction filings from March until the end of August, a number that housing advocates predict will increase sharply when the moratorium ends. Then, on Feb. 16, she was at the grocery store when her sister called to tell her sheriff's deputies were changing the locks on Shelton’s apartment. Overall, 207,000 families of color are behind on rent, compared with 110,000 white families. And there’s been times where I feel like the world is caving in on me, but my daughter at 8 years old lets me know, ‘Mommy, you’re strong.’”. Despite a statewide moratorium in effect during the COVID-19 crisis, evictions have still been taking place in Newark and Essex County, NJ, advocates say. On March 19, 2020, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order No. Since the first wave of the pandemic hit last April, 17 people have called the Attorney General’s Office saying they were being evicted or their landlords were threatening eviction, and the office referred them to local law enforcement or landlord tenant court, said spokesperson Peter Aseltine. If a landlord is warned by the police and then still tries to force someone out of their rental unit without a warrant issued by the court, it’s considered a disorderly conduct offense in New Jersey. The Newark Housing Authority filed five cases in landlord-tenant court against residents in the 10 months prior to the eviction moratorium between … Adams, McFarland’s landlord, said she never shut off the utilities. Housing experts have urged state leaders to condemn landlords who flout the executive order and the law that requires a warrant for removal. “Now I’m hearing from tenants that landlords are doing all kinds of things to get people removed, often on weekends or under the cover of night when nobody is available to help," she said. The federal eviction moratorium and those of many states expired by the end of last month. On July 16, 2020, the Governor extended this order through October 31, 2020. Is your landlord threatening to lock you out? Murphy has said he supports the massive housing bill, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. When she returned home, she found a notice on her door addressed to “unauthorized occupants” with a court date. New Jersey has had an eviction moratorium in place, NJ doesn't know how many health care workers died of COVID, NJ vets home COVID victims' families want answers, not memorial, National Low Income Housing Coalition's database, Murphy urges Legislature to pass housing relief bill. As Bakema McFarland waited for her court date over the eviction from her attic apartment in Newark, close friends, including her 7th grade teacher, sent her money through Cash App to help her pay for food, or an extra hour in a hotel room. The continuing eviction moratorium protects renters who meet income requirements ($99,000 for single filers, $198,000 for joint filers) and notify their landlord of their financial situation. October 30, 2020 Posted in Landlord/Tenant Law Share. Sheila Oliver, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, and others to bring attention to the issue. Of the 18 statewide halts that remain, most are set to … She contacted Legal Aid for help. It said McFarland owed $3,100 in rent and fees. The bed she shared with her 8-year-old daughter. "With all of the financial hardships and other challenges residents are facing during this health crisis, we’re determined to ensure that they need not worry about maintaining a secure home for themselves and their families.". “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I barely heard of cases of illegal evictions,” said Linda Flores Tober, executive director of The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, in Union County. On January 19, 2021, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order No. More than 15,000 eviction notices have been sent out to New Jersey residents during the pandemic even though Governor Phil Murphy issued an eviction moratorium, preventing people from … Here's the latest news on protections after Congress sent a $900 billion stimulus bill to President Donald Trump for his signature, as well as existing state protections and state legislation that has not yet made it to the governor: In New Jersey, most renters and homeowners cannot be locked out of their homes until 60 days after the end of a "public health emergency," a 30-day designation that Gov. She went down to the Essex County court house to ask about it, and showed the clerk her lease and Section 8 paperwork. Having said that, there are two striking differences between the two moratoria. "We really need more force and assistance from the state.”, Laura Adams, McFarland’s landlord, said she changed the locks because McFarland was “fighting with tenants, bringing people around and smoking weed.” When asked if she knew she could not evict without a court order, she said, “She went to the judge and the judge put her back here, so what is the problem?”. “If I could find something within my price range, I would leave. This moratorium on evictions will remain in place for up to two months after the end of this emergency. The Department of Human Services suspended applications for its $12 million COVID-19 Housing Assistance Programs to review the flood of responses it received. Phil Murphy established the state’s eviction moratorium, which halted court proceedings and prevented lockouts like the one that left Burley sleeping in a car. Is he going to try to do something else to get me out?”. She went to jail for three days after a fight with her estranged wife, and then to the hospital for foot surgery. Earlier in the year, New Jersey awarded nearly $4.7 million to 885 landlords with buildings of three to 30 units under a Small Landlord Emergency Grant, according to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. In Chatham County, it’s estimated there are thousands of dispossessory cases have been filed during the pandemic and are pending in the courts. Governor Murphy Enacts Moratorium on Removals of Individuals Due to Evictions or Foreclosures Governor Murphy Announces Changes to Upcoming New Jersey Elections in Response to COVID-19 Governor Murphy Announces Effort to Help Renters, Homeowners Threatened by Potential Foreclosure Black and brown families are being disproportionately affected by the economic fallout of the pandemic, reducing their ability to make housing payments. New Jersey should do more to inform tenants of their rights, he said. In March, Gov. McFarland, 30, called the police. The need is dire — between 330,000 and 480,000 of New Jersey's nearly 1.4 million tenants are unable to pay their rent and are at risk for eviction, according to a September study by Stout, a global investment bank and advisory firm. Newark mother and daughter illegally evicted from their apartment. “Her situation was so egregious,” said Myers, with the Office of Tenant Legal Services.
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