Image courtesy of Nick Allen / CC BY-SA 4.0

The city of Somerville has issued a moratorium on both residential and commercial evictions and a halt on apartment showings for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

The emergency order prohibits physical evictions but does not prevent landlords from beginning eviction proceedings in the courts, so tenants who are behind on rent can still be subject to eviction once the state of emergency is lifted, Mayor Joseph Curtatone announced Monday.

Responding to reports that real estate agents and landlords continue to show occupied apartments, Curtatone and the Board of Health ordered a halt to in-person showings and non-emergency work in units.

Somerville’s Office of Housing Stability is available to provide advice to residential tenants, while the Economic Development Staff can provide assistance to commercial tenants, the city announced today. The order does not relieve rent or mortgage debt and tenants should contact landlords to discuss payment plans, the city advised.

Somerville has 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the mayor’s office.

The state’s housing courts are closed through mid-April due to coronavirus concerns and are only considering “emergency” eviction requests.

The move follows a request from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to the city’s real estate community last week to ask property owners, rental brokers and real estate agents to not show occupied rental units if at all possible, and an order from the Cambridge City Council that bars such showings.