Huntsville, ala. (WHNT) – Without any progress made by Congress on Monday, the government closed another day. While the closure continues, this means that government officials work without salary or are on leave.
Although it is only a week after closing, some people can already feel financial stress.
Although civil servants are not paid, their invoices are always due. For most people, their greatest invoice is their rent or their mortgage.
The lawyer for the Huntsville region, Sarah Taggart, specializes in the law of owners and expulsions. She told News 19 that an expulsion can occur quickly.
“The expulsion process is a very short process,” she said.
She said that missing a month’s rent can turn into a big waste.
Although the October rent has probably already been paid, she said, if you are a government worker hit by closure and you fear missing a pay check, it is now time to plan in advance.
“There is an available help, but you want to start looking for this help and ask for this help now,” said Taggart.
She said that the process of demand and interview for help and housing subsidies can be long, so anyone who has seriously had an impact to start looking for now.
On the other hand, she said that the owners should also be proactive.
“If you are an owner and you know that your tenant is an employee of the government or could be assigned by the government closure, you must contact if your tenant works proactively on plans to see if you can work with them, on the plans to try to make sure that the November rent is paid,” she said.
Like most people, Taggart said that she hoped that government closure will end as soon as possible. However, she remembers the 2019 closure which lasted more than a month.
“(In 2019), we really saw a direct link between closure and evictions due to the duration of this closure,” she said.
With some government employees on leave and others who still work, but without pay check, she said that a sudden financial difficulty could happen to anyone.
“People do not recognize the human cost of these government closings, which it has an impact on your neighbor,” she said. “We all have invoices, and if you suddenly have part of the suspended income, any family would suffer.”
Taggart recommends that people call 2-1-1 to help find local help. She also said that Huntsville Housing helps links to more resources.
You can click here to find other financial assistance programs offering assistance to affected workers.
