Judge tosses Boston's Covid-19-based moratorium on evictions

Real-estate lawyer Richard Vetstein reports a Housing Court justness yesterday ruled the Boston Public Health Commission went excessively acold successful imposing a prohibition connected evictions arsenic a public-health measure.

In her ruling, Justice Irene Bagdoian wrote:

This tribunal perceives large mischief successful allowing a municipality oregon 1 of its agencies to transcend its power, adjacent for compelling reasons. . . . In this court’s view, specified enlargement of powerfulness by a governmental agency, adjacent for compelling reasons, should beryllium unthinkable successful a antiauthoritarian strategy of governance.

The lawsuit was initially filed connected behalf of a Mattapan landlord who began trying to evict tenants successful 2019 implicit non-payment of rent; a constable who faced a nonaccomplishment of gross due to the fact that helium could not service eviction notices besides joined the suit. Vetstein filed an amicus little successful the lawsuit connected the broadside of the landlord.

The Globe reports Mayor Wu is looking astatine whether to entreaty the ruling of the measure, enacted nether past acting Mayor Kim Janey.