Housing
If you have any questions about housing, eviction, rental assistance, etc. and you live in Watertown, the Watertown Social Services Resource Specialist program (funded by the City of Watertown and managed by the Wayside Multi-Service Center) can help. Call 617-744-9585 to learn more.
Court Forms Online is a website created by the Document Assembly Line Project that will help walk you through filling out the forms for free. It provides court forms and self-help materials for areas of urgent legal need. Help with some forms mentioned on this page can be found in the Housing section of Court Forms Online.
Eviction Moratoriums
The Massachusetts moratorium on evictions expired on October 17, 2020. A moratorium established by the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) ended by Supreme Court order on August 26, 2021.
Know your Eviction Rights
Your landlord can only make you move if they evict you. To evict you, they must get permission from a court. They cannot lock you out, throw your things out on the street, or harass you. If your landlord does not take the right steps, you can stop the eviction.
Your landlord must make sure you get a Notice to Quit.
The Notice tells you to leave in a certain number of days. You do not have to move out by the date on a Notice to Quit, but you should still take this notice seriously. The number of days depends on the reason for eviction.
14-Day Notice: You owe rent.
30-Day Notice: If the landlord is evicting you for no reason, or for a reason that they say is your fault.
No Notice: Your landlord accuses you of illegal activity in your apartment. Get a lawyer before you say anything in court.
This court form tells you your landlord is taking you to court and there will be a hearing. You will get a second notice that lists the time, date, and location of the hearing. Your Answer is due three days before your "first court event."
Learn how to respond to the eviction at MassLegalHelp.
Every eviction is different. Your options depend on your situation. All options have strict deadlines. If you miss the deadline, you lose the option.
You may be able to get free or low cost legal help. Visit the COVID Eviction Legal Help Project or search the Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder.
It is illegal to threaten, intimidate, or coerce a tenant to get them to leave the property, including by changing their locks, shutting off their utilities, interfering with their use of the unit, or by threatening to report them to immigration authorities. This protection applies to all tenants, whether they have a lease, a sublease, or no lease at all.
If your landlord is threatening to forcibly remove you or interfering with your unit, call the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office at 617-727-8400.
Rental Assistance
There are programs that can help you pay rent such as Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT). Understanding and applying for these types of programs can be challenging. It is strongly recommended that you use the assistance of the Watertown Social Services Resource Specialist by calling 617-744-9585.
Emergency Shelter
How to get into Emergency Shelter
If you are a single adult check for availability here.
If you have children under age 21, or you are pregnant, and you have no place to stay, you may be eligible for emergency assistance (“EA”) family shelter. To apply, call DHCD at (866) 584-0653. It is best to call on a weekday, before 5:00p.m. Calls made after 5:00p.m. during the week or on the weekends may have a delayed response.
If DHCD says your family is not eligible for the EA shelter program, or that you cannot be placed right away, and you don’t have a place to stay, contact: Mass. Coalition for the Homeless: Call (781) 595-7570 x36, or visit mahomeless.org (for referral to an agency near you). More info...
COVID-19 Support for People Experiencing Homelessness
The state has opened isolation and recovery sites for people experiencing homelessness who test positive for COVID-19 and need a safe place to recover.
Contact:
For individuals outside Boston, please NOTE THAT THIS NUMBER HAS CHANGED: call 617-367-5150 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The intake coordinator will determine eligibility, register an individual for the program, and have the guest placed and transported to the nearest Isolation and Recovery location that has availability.
For those in Boston, please call 617-534-5050. The City of Boston has implemented services for individuals who are COVID-19 positive and homeless within Boston and can be reached at this number for further coordination.
Language Assistance
If you need language assistance for emergency shelter call the DHCD main office at 617-573-1106, an over-the-phone interpreter will be provided to you free of charge.