days before the October 31st date for payment, for the purpose of ascertaining the status
of Respondent's application for FHEPS. It is exceedingly rare for a tenant seeking rent
arrears assistance via various government programs to pay the arrears they owe by the
date that they agree to do so.[FN2]
In almost every case the proceeding will return to court, either by a landlord's [*2]motion for enforcement or a tenant's motion for a stay. In
the court's experience, it was all but inevitable that the following would transpire in this
case: first, Respondent would fail to pay the arrears by October 31st; then, Petitioner
would then reflexively avail itself of its right under the agreement to evict Respondent
after serving an eviction notice; next, Respondent would travel to court to file an order to
show cause requesting a stay of eviction. By scheduling a status conference to check on
the status of Respondent's FHEPS application, the court hoped to reduce the parties'
uncertainty about final resolution of their dispute, to dispense with excessive paperwork
(e.g., eviction notices, motions), fees (e.g., for attorneys and marshals), and trips to the
courthouse, and to reduce calendar volume brought on by successive orders to show
cause.
Respondent failed to appear in court on the date set for the status conference. Had
she appeared, the court would have inquired as to what information she had regarding
her FHEPS application and would make inquiries of Homebase or HRA, whichever
applicable, to determine whether any additional documents were required from Petitioner
or Respondent (or the court), at what stage of the process the application was, and when
an approval and issuance of checks might be expected. This process can result in the