Hundreds Of Waltham Residents Hope To Avoid Eviction

WALTHAM, MA — Juan Timoteo has lived in Waltham for the past 25 years, where he has held a steady job in an upscale restaurant, until it closed suddenly amid pandemic. The sole provider for his wife and two children, he's scraping together whatever work he can find to put toward bills and the $1,800 rent for his family's two-bedroom.

Then, last week, after noticing a cough, he and his family tested positive for the coronavirus. He now has to wait another week before he's cleared to take the odd jobs friends people float to him. But the bills are piling up and he's getting increasingly frustrated with the outlook.

He's also worried about rent increases.

"Every year, rent goes up another $100," he said. "I used to pay $1,400, every year it’s a $100 [increase], how am I gonna pay that?"

Timoteo's situation is representative of what hundreds of Waltham residents are experiencing as the state eviction moratorium ends later this month, many of who worry they could face evictions if they can't find work.

The eviction moratorium signed April 20 by Gov. Charlie Baker is set to expire Oct. 17. Under the law, a landlord can't evict a tenant for "non-essential" reasons like not paying rent. Landlords can still evict tenants who violate criminal laws or break a lease in an egregious way.

The moratorium wasn't meant to forgive back rent, but to give more time to renters amid the pandemic. But as the health crisis and associated job losses stretch on — the state's unemployment rate was at nation-high 16.1 percent in late August. That number has dipped down to 11.3, still well above the national average of 8.4.

"We’re hoping to prevent a flood of evictions in Waltham later this month," said Daria Gere, director of Waltham Alliance for Teaching, Community Organizing & Housing.

Her organization is meeting with legislators and city officials in the hopes of finding ways to help community members make ends meet, in addition to rental assistance grants.

"We have been helping about 783 people since the pandemic started," said Genoveva Tavera, who also works at the housing nonprofit, connecting people to resources to help them stay in their homes.

Many of the people in need have worked in restaurants and hotels or have been nannies. Those jobs have evaporated since March.

People who take care of kids are not working because parents are taking care of them. There are fewer gigs for landscapers because families are doing that together or don't have the money for such projects.

Hotels are also working at lower capacity and the housekeepers and the banquet staff and the food runners are all on furlough, while managers do the bulk of the work. It's not uncommon for a family to have both parents laid off from the same hotel, said Tavera, putting the family into an immediate bind.

For those who worked in the gig economy, the unemployment checks are low, because they are based on what workers earned at a single job.

"They were just scraping by before, and now they're getting desperate," Tavera said.

On top of that people, like Timoteo, are getting sick.

Timoteo and his family are fortunate they aren't showing symptoms beyond the coughing, he said. They have friends and neighbors who help with food, and a relative shared an email about rental assistance that WATCH CDC offered early, so they've been able to make rent each month.

But he's still worried. He and his family got an eviction notice a year or two ago over a miscommunication and it stuck with him.

"I still think about that, he gave us 14 days notice," Timoteo said. "What would we do?"

In April a man taken to the hospital with the coronavirus called from his hospital bed at 6 a.m. to make sure Tavera didn't forget about his children, staying with his brother since his wife was out of the country.

"It’s a traumatizing thing," she said of the unknown, and the very real possibility of losing one's home when you have no savings and your job suddenly disappears. "We have people of good faith and willing to work harder, taking food to the sick or donating money. And in the last 7 months we have plenty of that."

The organization and a group of renters are meeting with Rep. Tom Stanley this week to see if there's any way to push for a one-year freeze on raising rent, at the very least.

"Because how do you pay rent if you’re not working?" she said, pointing to Timoteo.

Tips from the WATCH CDC:

What should you do if you are worried about making your rent?

If you owe rent, pay what you can, and communicate with your landlord. In order to be protected under the federal eviction moratorium, you must sign a Declaration From. Please read the form carefully. If the form applies to you, sign it, and give it to your landlord - in person or by taking a picture and sending by text/ email. If you deliver it in person, take a picture of the completed form for your records.

Getting help with Rent:
By signing the Declaration, you are stating that you have applied for “all available rental assistance.” You can apply for state rental assistance at www.metrohousingboston.org

Need a Declaration Form?
These forms are available online at www.watchcdc.org and at the Waltham Public Library (entrance by the parking lot), Monday-Friday, 8:30 am – 4 pm, and at the WATCH office at 24 Crescent Street, Suite 201, (next to our front door entrance on Crescent Street) Monday – Friday 9am to 7:30pm.

Questions? Please call Suzi at WATCH at 781-570-4394 or send an email to suzi@watchcdc.org

Previously:

• Landlords Fail To Overturn MA Eviction Ban In Court
• MA Announces Extension of Eviction & Foreclosure ...
• Lo Que Tiene Que Hacer Para Prevenir El Desalojo En Waltham

Got a tip? Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece.