The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Massachusetts
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Mass. Const.; emergency law (St. 2020, c. 65)
- Issued
- 2020-04-20 Apr. 20, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-04-20 (emergency law) (read as 2020-04-20)
- End
- secs. 3-5 expired 120 days after enactment (Aug. 18, 2020) or 45 days after the emergency ended, whichever first, subject to extension by the Governor; extended to Oct. 17, 2020 (Massachusetts State file, MA-052); sec. 2 (video counseling) to the end of the emergency, extended by ch. 20 of 2021 sec. 6 to Dec. 15, 2021 (read as 2020-12-31)
- In force
- Apr. 20, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q4
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Courts and public officesOther
- Addressees
- landlords
- creditors and mortgagees
- courts, sheriffs and constables
- Functions reached
- SV (compelled 180-day forbearance on attestation; foreclosure process barred; credit reporting)
- ML
- CB
- Collection
- Financial Services SEC-13
Operative words
SECTION 5. (a) Notwithstanding chapter 239 or chapter 244 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, a creditor or mortgagee shall not, for the purposes of foreclosure of a residential property... that is not vacant or abandoned: (i) cause notice of a foreclosure sale to be published... (ii) exercise a power of sale; (iii) exercise a right of entry; (iv) initiate a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure process; or (v) file a complaint to determine the military status of a mortgagor... (b) A creditor or mortgagee shall grant a forbearance to a mortgagor of a residential property... if the mortgagor submits a request to the mortgagor's servicer affirming that the mortgagor has experienced a financial impact from COVID-19. The forbearance shall be for not more than 180 days. Fees, penalties or interest beyond the amounts scheduled and calculated as if the mortgagor made all contractual payments on time and in full under the terms of the mortgage contract shall not accrue during the period of forbearance... The mortgagee shall not furnish negative mortgage payment information to a consumer reporting agency related to mortgage payments subject to forbearance under this act.
Enforcement
Statute; G.L. c. 93A exposure; sec. 3(d) bars sheriffs and constables from enforcing
Notes
Same instrument as MA-052. The Massachusetts analogue of CARES Act sec. 4022, reaching every residential mortgage regardless of federal backing.