Coronavirus Updates and Information for Jackson, NC

Best Web Resources on North Carolina Coronavirus Eviction Information

Here's the best info on evictions that we've found on the Internet for surviving the COVID-19 economic challenges.

North Carolina Legal Aid Office: LawHelpNC

Browse the website for North Carolina’s legal aid office, for the latest on covid 19 eviction help.

North Carolina’s Legal Aid office offers help on evictions.

North Carolina Eviction Law:

Nolo provides a detailed state specific description of the eviction process in North Carolina. You can also search the web for eviction law in Northampton County, or North Carolina.

• Eviction Procedures for North Carolina from Nolo
• (Web  search for North Carolina eviction law)

HUD - 50-State Specific Covid Information for Housing

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers free links to local housing resources in North Carolina.

HUD Resources for North Carolina

• Renting assistance for North Carolina
• Public Housing Agencies in North Carolina
• Homeless Resources for North Carolina

JustShelter.org Community Resources for North Carolina

Just Shelter has organized links 600+ organizations working hard to preserve affordable housing, prevent eviction, and reduce family homelessness around the nation. Here's there info for North Carolina

NCLC Free Book on Surving Debt

The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has made free their excellent book on "Surviving Debt" during the Coronavirus pandemic.

• Chapter 20 Evictions
  • This chapter of the book explains in detail your legal options when facing eviction. 

  • Often your best option when faced with an eviction is to buy yourself enough time to find alternate housing that is both affordable and adequate, with minimal disruption to your life. This chapter offers defenses to evictions that can buy you some time.

ProPublica

• Can I Be Evicted During Coronavirus?

Other good Sources (via NCLC)

Analysis of CARES ACT Eviction Protections: The National Housing Law Center has issued an analysis of federal and state eviction suspensions.

Self-help and advocate eviction pleadings and forms: Go to lawhelpinteractive.org, click on the state on the map and search for self-represented or advocate materials. If there are forms available, you will be referred to the LSC-approved or court-approved websites where all forms are listed. Some states also have eviction expungement forms.

The Anti-Eviction Mapping Project has a listing of enacted and pending state and local actions related to evictions.

Regional Housing Legal Services has an updated list of tenant protections during the emergency.

The Eviction Lab also has detailed state-by-state listings regarding renter protections during the emergency.

50 State Google Doc Tracks Eviction Moratoria in all states

A state-by-state list of eviction moratoria is now published by the National Housing Law Project, researched by students at Columbia and University of Pennsylvania. It includes 24 categories of information concerning eviction for each state. more...  

Free COVID-19 Resources from NCLC (National Consumer Law Center)

The National Consumer Law Center is considered the best sources for information about consumer law. Their materials are used by attorneys nationwide.

They have announced FREE resources to the public on a variety of debt and credit topics, including  free (during the Coronavirus crisis) access to their online book on Surviving Debt. 

Free Book From NCLC Surviving Debt

Their free online book offers these extremely timely tips to consumers on how rules you should be following now if you've got more expenses you can handle.

• Rule #1: Prioritize Debts Whose Non-Payment Immediately Harms Your Family
• Rule #2: Don’t Let Debt Collectors, Credit Score Worries, Stress, or Other Factors Force You into Bad Decisions
• Rule #3: Stretch Your Dollars and Your Debt, but Also Think Long Term
• Rule #4: Avoid Scams and Other Rip-Offs Preying on Those in Debt
• Rule # 5: Know Whether and When to File Bankruptcy
• Rule # 6: Get Help from a Counselor or Lawyer

LegalConsumer.com highly recommends the materials from the National Consumer Law Center. They are an outstanding organization who advise legal aid lawyers throughout the nation. No one has more knowledge of those who are facing debts.

NCLC Announcement

New Free NCLC Resources in Response to COVID-19 

NCLC has been working hard to create and disseminate resources to help attorneys and consumers navigate the COVID-19 crisis, including the following:

• Our new Digital Library article “Mortgage Relief for Homeowners Affected by COVID-19" outlines a variety of new protections for homeowners who may be having difficulty making mortgage payments due to COVID-related financial hardship — you can also view a free summary of the articlehere. In addition, we have produced a video for consumers that outlines "What Consumers Need to Know About Mortgage Relief" in light of the coronavirus crisis.
• Also new to the Digital Library, “Protecting Against Credit Seizure of Stimulus Checks" provides an in-depth explanation of the threat, lists tips to determine accounts at risk, and provides advice on protecting clients’ accounts from garnishment.
• Our student loans team has compiled a video for consumers explaining "What the CARES Act Means for Repayment of Federal Student Loans," also available as an article on our Student Loan Borrower Assistancewebsite.

NCLC remains committed to providing consumers and attorneys with the most up-to-date information about COVID-related consumer protections, and continues to add content to our Digital Library article on Major Protections Announced in Response to COVID-19and the COVID-19 & Consumer Protectionspage on our website as new information becomes available.

New Article on Enforcing CARES Act Credit Reporting Provisions 

The economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will soon translate into pervasive credit reporting harm, as millions of consumers become unable to pay their credit obligations, and creditors, debt collectors, and others furnish negative information about them to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies (CRAs). 

A new NCLC articleexplains how consumers can protect their credit reports by enforcing the modest protections offered by the CARES Act, including detailed commentary on:

• Scope and Application of the CARES Act Credit Reporting Provision
• Credit Reporting Rights Under the CARES Act
• Consumer Enforcement of the CARES Act Credit Reporting Provision
• Special Enforcement Rights for California Consumers

Even the credit reporting industry acknowledges that there will likely be problems with implementation of these new protections, given the large volume of accommodations that creditors are processing and new customer service staff who may be inexperienced in dealing with credit reporting issues. Consumers and advocates are advised to be proactive and vigilant, and to visit NCLC's Credit Reports page for regular updates.

As reported by AARP recently, "The Treasury and the IRS didn’t use death records to stop payments to dead people because the IRS did not think they had the authority to deny payments to those who filed a 2019 tax return, according to the Government Accountability Office. Treasury also noted that the CARES Act required them to distribute the checks as quickly as possible."

As a result, the IRS has said:

“A [stimulus] payment made to someone who died before receipt of the payment should be returned to the IRS by following the instructions about repayments,” according to updated guidance posted on IRS.gov on May 6. more...