Announcements
Hello everyone,
I want to let you know that John Souza & I along with our CCOPO lobbyists Jim Amann and Mike Rell had a phone call Tuesday afternoon April 28th with Jonny Dach & Jonathan Harris, two high level, senior advisors to Governor Lamont.
We were working towards this call for a couple weeks and finally got the opportunity to speak in person. They appreciated our efforts and were thankful for the solutions we offered and are willing to try and make things right.
Our main objective was to have them consider ways to re-open the courts as a way to provide relief to landlords suffering at the mercy of tenants who are refusing to pay rent. We asked for the ability to serve papers & notices to quit after June 1st and an expedited process and additional staff and more court days to clear any backlog once the courts open.
We also asked for a clarification of the Governor’s Executive Order and a direct message to tenants indicating that they need to pay rent if they are able and also that the grace period is only temporary and that all of the rent eventually needs to be repaid.
They agreed that the Governor will clarify the order so that tenants will better understand their responsibilities.
We are expecting this clarification directly from the Governor in the next few days.
In addition to the phone call today, there were several of us on Zoom call yesterday with Rep. Brandon McGee. Rep. McGee is a landlord himself and his understanding of the current situation was refreshing to hear. He said he would also put pressure on the Governor to clarify the EO 7x. He asked for another call at some point soon where he would try to have the Governor on the call where we would be able to have a forum about possible long-term solutions.
We were also able to get some clarification on federally backed mortgages.
According to Harris & Dach, all federally backed mortgages qualify for a 6-month forbearance period with an additional 6 months if necessary and upon request.
As per my own experience, your mortgage company may modify your mortgage to allow you to add the additional payments to the end of the term instead of a lump sum payment at the end of the forbearance period. You need to communicate with your mortgage company and specifically ask for that type of relief.
We will keep you informed of our latest developments as soon as any new information becomes available.
I want to especially thank Jim Amann & Mike Rell for continuing to work so diligently on our behalf. Without them this call would not have been possible.
CCOPO continues this fight every day for our members and all landlords in Connecticut.
Thanks to the tremendous support of our members, vendors and affiliate organizations we are making great strides in our legislative efforts and affecting great change in Connecticut.
If you have any issues, please reach out to us.
Our email address is: Support@CCOPO.com
Sincerely,
Rick Bush
Treasurer – CCOPO Connecticut Coalition of Property Owners
President – CAREI Connecticut Association of Real Estate Investors