West Hartford

Executive Orders Set To Expire At Midnight Include State Eviction Moratorium

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A host of executive orders are set to end when the clock strikes midnight, including the eviction moratorium.

Despite the state's eviction moratorium ending, Rick Bush is a landlord and is one of the property owners who won't be getting rid of his tenants.

"I'm not evicting anybody," Bush said. "We work out problems when they happen and we solve problems and I've been very proactive about the TRAP program and the uniteCT program."

Those two state resources have allowed his tenants to receive a little help when it comes to their rent yet Bush said he still supports the state executive order expiring.

"It empowered bad actors and it hurt a lot of good landlords," he told NBC Connecticut. "The state effectively takes control of your property, a private party and controls it and disallows you to profit from what you have rightfully purchased."

John Souza is the president of Connecticut's Coalition of Property Owners and agrees. He believes eviction courts need to be reopened to serve as a mediator and offer some solutions.

"There's been a lot of burden put on landlords in the last 15 months and its finally lifted and we actually have a chance to get our day in court," said Souza. "Landlords have a right to try and recover some of their income if they haven't been paid in a long time."

Some worry the expiration date will be a big hit for tenants.

"People are going to be forced to go to shelters and we are concerned there isn't enough shelter space currently available," said Erin Kemple, the executive director of the Connecticut Fair Housing Center.

There is still a federal moratorium in place which is set to expire at the end of July but the government announced that this will be the last federal eviction moratorium.

Also ending at 11:59 p.m., the executive order that allowed restaurants to sell and offer alcoholic beverages to go.

The executive order may have expired, but the General Assembly passed legislation in this last session the allows restaurants to continue "to-go" alcohol sales for the next three years.

"The option to offer take-out drinks was huge for us," said Jordan Dikegorous, owner at J's Restaurant in Hartford. "I think people enjoyed doing it knowing the they don't have to go to a package store but they can come to our restaurant, pick up their favorite drinks and go home and enjoy them."

When it comes to local municipalities, they too are preparing for a change with the ending of one executive order. City and town boards cannot hold meetings virtually, they must actually meet somewhere and have a meeting so the public can attend. Municipalities can still live stream meetings if they choose to do so but they have to offer the public some place to actually gather.

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