Mass. Landlords File Suit Against the State Claiming the Eviction Moratorium Is Unconstitutional

Two Massachusetts landlords have filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

The lawsuit, filed on July 15 in US District Court, seeks a judgment from the court invalidating the state’s moratorium on evictions.

According to the complaint, the moratorium’s prohibition on court-ordered evictions violates the First Amendment of the Constitution by “abridging…the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In addition, the landlords argue that the state’s ban on eviction notices infringes their right to free speech under the First Amendment.

The complaint also contends that the moratorium violates the landlords’ right to contract under Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution and takes their private property for public use without just compensation, thereby violating the Fifth Amendment.

All rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution are applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.