Rental Assistance Needed for Renters & Housing Providers Alike

Rental Assistance Needed for Renters & Housing Providers Alike

September 2020

On September 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared a “temporary halt to residential evictions to prevent the further spread of COVID-19,” which applies to all residential housing. This moratorium ends on December 31, 2020.

This may seem helpful to renters in the short-term. But, this notice does not relieve residents from their rent obligations, and landlords may charge late fees, penalties and interest on missed rental payments.

Right now, housing markets are strong. But a lack of rental assistance jeopardizes the entire real estate market. The eviction crisis that will occur at the end of this eviction moratorium will be significant. The current eviction moratorium will leave housing providers and renters alike struggling, and will have a devastating impact on our national economy.

More than 40% of rental units across the nation are owned by ‘mom & pop’ owners who will struggle to keep up with their financial obligations. Additionally, 37% of rental units are categorized as LLC/LP/LLP, many of which are operated by individuals who will also be negatively impacted. Many of these owners rely on their rental income to cover their own necessities, including housing, food and medical needs. More than 25% of REALTORS® own or manage rental property.

During the moratorium, property owners will struggle to make their obligations – including mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, property maintenance, utilities and staff. When the moratorium expires, renters will struggle to make up massive amounts of back rent (which could amount to over a years’ worth of rent). This will turn this pandemic into a significant housing crisis come 2021.

That’s why we, along with our coalition partners, are asking Congress to make rental assistance necessary for renters AND housing providers. Congress must enact an emergency rental assistance program that addresses the challenges for housing providers and renters alike. The House-passed HEROES Act did include rental assistance, but not sufficient to cover the number of renters covered by the CDC notice. All renters who are eligible and attest to their need for the eviction moratorium must be covered. Payments should be made directly to housing providers who provide housing authorities with copies of their residents’ attestations.

More action is coming on this issue as we will fight to protect our nation’s more than 48 million rental units and their property owners.

 

Comments(42)

  1. REPLY
    Mark Simpson says

    Amen!

    This all could have been avoided if Congress provided rent assistance or cost of living assistance rather than stealing a landlord’s property right to collect rent. But, what do you expect from this bunch of incompetents. Now they have to fix the unintended consequences of their knee jerk action or it will turn into a crisis.

    • REPLY
      Claudia Stapel says

      I couldn’t agree more. The government took our rental properties and transformed them into high end government shelters without just compensation to owners, shifting the homeless Housing costs from government to landlords, violating our constitutional rights! This is Taking by our government through its police power of eminent domain! Worse than in communist countries!

  2. REPLY
    Larry Newhall says

    Your missing the real issue, in my opinion.

    Where does the government, (Federal or State), get the authority to take such action? Letting this happen without a fight, will only lead to further encroachment on our constitutional rights.

    At least you are trying to bring attention to this debacle.

    Thanks.

  3. REPLY
    Robin Babb says

    Thank you for the update, I am concerned and was wondering how this would work.

  4. REPLY
    Rich Townsend says

    I have been shocked I’ve seen nothing in the news addressing the HIT Mom and Pop landlords are taking. Most are small owners of 1-2 homes and rely on the rents to not only pay the mortgage on the property, but rely on rental income for their retirement and personal needs. So far it appears the governments answer to this issue is expecting the homeowner/landlord to take the hit. This is soooo WRONG!! Their credit and income needed for living has been destroyed!

    I hope NAR is very public on this. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist on this.

    • REPLY
      Jan Gordon says

      Well said. I have been wondering the same.

  5. REPLY
    Larry Bryant says

    Is there a written letter we can forward to everyon?

  6. REPLY
    Sherri Y Camargo says

    It is only logical payments for rent should be paid directly to the owners/landlords and yes they need the full amount to cover the cost of supplying housing to renters. Thank you NAR for fighting for Realtors and Landlords!

  7. REPLY
    Judy Cochran says

    Rental payments should be paid to the Landlords/Property Managers to pay the mortgages…..otherwise, they will be going into foreclosure….

    • REPLY
      Claudia Stapel says

      I couldn’t agree more. The government took our rental properties and transformed them into high end government shelters without just compensation to owners, shifting the homeless Housing costs from government to landlords, violating our constitutional rights! This is Taking by our government through its police power of eminent domain! Worse than in communist countries! The government needs to pay the full rent to landlords directly and bill the amounts to the renters via government loan to be paid back by renters to the government over a long period off time, like with a 15-30 year mortgage. I’ma small landlord and My tenants owe me over $20,000 so far

  8. REPLY
    Mike Albanese says

    I’ve owned rental property for 30 years. The ONLY time i had trouble keeping my mortgage payments paid was during the housing/mortgage debacle in 2009 when I had 3 vacant properties at the same time for a prolonged period of time (one was vacant for 15 mos). I again will be faced with the same thing if my tenants cannot pay rent. Continuing to pay bills without the rental income I rely on as my “income” is just not possible.

  9. REPLY
    Ching Yu says

    The housing market strong is because of supply too low. It’s has nothing to do with rental market which is different issue.
    The tenants and housing providers are co-exist, “the halt to eviction” policy was only looked one side from the begining, which is another evidence that Country’s leadership has been disconnected with the real fact. It will have bigger problem down the road when home owner/landlord can’t pay the mortgage, which will bring distress to the housing market as a whole.

  10. REPLY
    Ilir B says

    Yes that is true. Yes renters shouldn’t be evicted however the government who is passing the moratorium should pick up the tab. Why should the owners suffer and risk everything

    • REPLY
      Claudia Stapel says

      The government should pay the rents directly to landlords and bill the tenants in the form of a low interest loan that tenants can take to be paid over 30 years, like with a mortgage

    • REPLY
      Stephanie N. McKeough says

      Agreed! As a landlord myself I need my tenant to make the payments so the mortgage is paid.. as a property manager I’m seeing my landlords struggle due to this.
      While I understand the need for tenants to avoid eviction it isn’t right to make the landlord suffer and/or cover someone’s living expenses. This wasn’t thought out and could end very poorly for all

  11. REPLY
    Charles R Brighthaupt says

    and at this point in time still no solution to the virus. It would seem an answer might be a long term low interest loan to property owners. Renters might get the same option but linked to an IRS account so it is repaid. Socialism or depression?

  12. REPLY
    Lanetta Cooper says

    Please help support the Rental Assistance Needed for Renters & Housing Providers Alike. As a property manager, I have seen 1st hand the problems caused by the first stoppage of evictions for non-payment of rent. This negatively affected both the Tenants and Owners. Collecting rent became very difficult for my office.

  13. REPLY
    Christopher Gordon says

    I have withdrawn rentals from the MLS until this gets resolved. Otherwise, someone could move in to a property, pay no rent and put me in a position of no recourse.

  14. REPLY
    Carlos Saramago says

    The first step should be no payment of real estate taxes ( 2020) for all property owners who were affected by this.

  15. REPLY
    Summer Jung says

    These “postponed” evictions will supposedly resume in January, 2021, in the middle of WINTER, potentially leaving renters behind on payments homeless in freezing temperatures, and landlords with a minimum of possible alternative renters, since most folks don’t move in or out in the 1st quarter weather.

  16. REPLY
    Jean Marsh says

    The other problem is, when the rent is due in Dec. or Jan. and the renters only pay 25% of their rent, it is unlikely they will ever catch up! Then the only way to evict them is to go to Court. Another hit on the Landlord. I own a few properties, however it in not just the mortgage that has to be paid, it is your insurance, taxes Gardner and utilities!
    All this adds up. No one will ant to buy investment properties if this continues.

  17. REPLY
    Clifford R Stevens says

    The next housing crisis is just around the corner. Congress is a day late and several dollars short. The new stimulus bill was shot down today with no clear resolution in site. I am a real estate broker specializing in foreclosure prevention and short sales for my clients, and it’s going to be a very busy 2021, and most likely for the next few years, as the lasting results of this pandemic are yet undetermined. I deal with this every day, all day. This just doesn’t affect renters—when all of these homeowners who have been adversely affected by the pandemic that have COVID-19 ‘special forbearance plans’ in place with their respective mortgage lenders all expire and the banks and servicers call their debts due (3 to 9 months worth of monthly payments), most will not be able to pay that huge sum of money. If they have had 1, 2, or 3 loan modifications already, they aren’t getting another one, and will be facing foreclosure proceedings; these are just the facts, and I shutter to think just how many households will be affected. If our leadership put a solid plan in place and passed legislation specifically focused on this upcoming crisis, it would help immensely, but I digress. Continued success to all, and please stay safe. CS

  18. REPLY
    Peggy L Damon says

    Maybe I have missed something, but I have not seen where the Federal Government is taking care of homeowners paying mortgages that have lost income and are trying to figure it out?! How is it that it is anyone’s responsibility to pay for a renters housing expense vs a homeowners housing expense? I have a very diversified tenant base and every single one of them has been responsible enough to pay rent and continue to maintain their homes. They are so grateful for the opportunity to have their families in a home instead of an apartment, or worse, and they are proud to be able to take care of their personal business. What is happening in our country that it is constantly someone else’s responsibility to pay for anyone but their own self or their family!!! Lord, I am sorry to get off on such a tangent, but people, we have to wake up before we implode!

  19. REPLY
    John Ginder says

    Where are the real thinkers on this issue? It seems that the knee jerk reactions always favor the loudest voices. This was just not thought out. There are many affected by this pandemic and the cost to our country is almost insurmountable considering the trickle down effect of supporting one group and not another. Lets all, (members of NAR), get on board to let our collective voices heard.

  20. REPLY
    Denielle says

    Yes, and the issue is that the Senate is stalling any type of relief until after the election because they want the credit for any relief bills that are passed. Also, if the rental assistance goes directly to the property managers there needs to also be a condition that the landlord’s will forgive the tenants rent as a condition. I can totally see them trying to accept the funds and then turn around and evict people afterwards.

  21. REPLY
    Charles Stallions says

    The government should have paid folks rent first and then let them use what was left for living expenses, this will be a worse crisis than the pandemic ever could have. Now that NAR has tested the waters they want to wade in with too little too late just like when they had realtor.com and screwed that up. Where is all this RPAC I pay for and hear how they get things done.

  22. REPLY
    Dionne Nelthropp says

    This is a far over reach of government powers.
    Nobody wants to see people kicked out of their homes EVER but it’s not individual property owners responsibility to hold the financial bag on this. The government needs to pay these property owners any past due rents and let the government and the tenants work out a repayment plan down the road.

  23. REPLY
    Scott Blanche says

    Look at our debts as a nation – in the trillions of dollars. So no surprise that the political establishment continues to dole out dollars that don’t belong to them.

    Tenants and landlords would actually be able to work out a solution with a surprisingly smaller number than imagined being evicted.

    Support term limits and cure the political disease that plagues every American.

  24. REPLY
    Michele T. says

    I agree with many of the above comments. As a REALTOR, and a landlord, I feel like the feds reacted carelessly, causing harm to landlords. While I am sympathetic to the horrendous impact the pandemic has had on so many people with fragile financial profiles, the legislation put landlords in a tough position. How on earth did the legislators think that renters, who couldn’t afford to make their rent payments, would be able to make up large unpaid rent amounts after they return to work? Instead, I have already seen situations where landlords agreed to accept partial rent payments with a payback schedule only to have tenants walk away without paying leaving landlords with limited options to ever collect unpaid rents. A better plan would have been to work with landlords to subsidize tenant’s rents, making payments directly to landlords. I hope I’m wrong, but I think the worst is yet to come in terms of the impact on both tenants and landlords.

  25. REPLY
    Na says

    I completely understand and agree with the need to support people affected by the COVID-19 state of emergency and the Shelter In Place (SIP) order issued by the state. However, these developments are not factors in my situation.

    I am a single property home owner, relying on the income of my rental home to support my family financially. My tenant had been in good standing for 5 years. He and I worked together during the 2017 Sonoma County fires to ensure his safety and the protection of my house. 

    My tenant was late and sporadic with his rent payments every month in 2019 and then stopped paying in 2020. We offered to work with him to contact a local charitable organization that would assist with rent payments based on income needs. However, he refused to fill out the paperwork.

    His continued refusal to meet his financial responsibilities is not the result of the COVID-19 pandemic or the SIP order. When I texted him in March to inquire about the situation, his response was, “I’m not refusing to pay rent. I could say so much right now, but it will all come out in the wash.” He has offered no other information.

    The new law prohibits me from acting on any of the rights which the law allows me and harm me and my family who have acted ethically and fairly while believing faithfully in the rights of all and the protection off the government for all

    This tied the hands of landlords who need to move forward with evictions for reasons that are legitimate but outside the narrow definition of allowable evictions.

    I’d like to pose this question on behalf of California tax-paying landlords like myself, who are financially dependent on the rental of their homes: How do we provide for our families when we are hampered by both a tenant’s abuse of the system and the Council’s protection of that abuse?

    If we want to help California become a state where businesses and families can flourish, this situation must be addressed.

  26. REPLY
    Terri Wilson says

    I am a licensed Texas REALTOR, I own 31 properties & I manage my own rentals. I pay $85,000 per year in property taxes alone . If the tenants do not pay me ,I cannot meet my obligations . I have not evicted anyone , charged late fees, penalties. Or interest on un paid rents , during the covid 19 crisis .However I need assistance to continue to meet my financial obligations . No one wants evictions . Please see both sides of the problem . Please help the property owners . We are not rich . This is our income & our retirement plan . Please do not penalize us for tying to be self sufficient .

  27. REPLY
    Janice McCoy says

    When the government extended an additional $600 per week to unemployed personnel there should have been no need to give rent relief. Some of that money should have gone to pay landlords.

  28. REPLY
    A.C. says

    It is a taking of property without due process of law.

  29. REPLY
    Sharon Wenger says

    Here in Portland over 60% of the rental housing is owned by “mom and pop” landlords. We are already seeing many of these individuals selling their rentals, and most are being sold to owner occupants, which reduces the rental pool, and fewer rentals available means higher rents down the road. Similarly, if the small mom and pop landlords are driven out, because they don’t have pockets deep enough to get through this, then the “corporate owners” will end up with an even bigger share than they already have. I don’t see how this can be good for anyone, really, and certainly not the economy as a whole! Why isn’t anyone looking at the long-term unintended consequences of this policy?

  30. REPLY
    Sue Boshoff says

    I am relieved we have a voice somewhere. We are in our 80’s and the rental income is our retirement income. We still make repairs to the homes, pay mortgages, we have to eat and survive ourselves. We can loose everything if renters don’t pay, so far our renters are paying but they have no idea of our situation. There are two sides to this.

  31. REPLY
    Virginia says

    The letter written from the coalition should have pointed out the 40% of mom & pop owners and 37% of LLCs. They need to know the statistics.

  32. REPLY
    M Kline says

    Gosh – everyone talks about the “Government picking up the tab”. like they have deep pockets … Remember, the government has no capacity to earn money. It is OUR money that they use and WE ALL will be paying for the renters and the landlords, Fannie and Freddie etc… not the government. Just saying….

  33. REPLY
    Tim Reid says

    This is similar to another adverse-to-landlords action that the state of Michigan and then Traverse City and their owned Traverse City Light and Power took a few years ago. The state mandated that during that winter power could not be shut off to tenants that could not or choose not to pay their electric bills. After this the Traverse City city commission gave TCL&P permission to make delinquent utility bills not be the responsibility of the person that ordered service but to revert to the landowner. So some tenants then decided not to pay their electric bills and landlords were not notified until as much as a year later that they owed delinquent amounts for tenants who skipped on these bills.

  34. REPLY
    MR says

    Looks like most of you people are owners/landlords/realtors. You are the lucky ones. Having an asset like real estate has it’s demands, but doesn’t come close to the shame one feels as a “renter”…and I’m a realtor too by the way.

  35. REPLY
    Michelle Fenn says

    Unintended Consequences of Legislative Stalemat
    Rents and the amount of security deposits will increase to compensate landlords for the increased risk. Renters will have less security as more leases are written as Month to Month. Finally there will be less rentals available as many landlords elect to sell rather than face an uncertain future. Just today two potential rentals were turned into listings once the owners were informed of the CDC eviction moratorium.

    Yes the order states that rents and penalties are still owed, but with a majority of the population living paycheck to paycheck, the probability of reimbursement for months of unpaid rent and water/sewer bill that become liens on property is unlikely. The government is turning landlords into social service agencies.

    The senate and house should start appropriating monies for new affordable public housing, because private rentals will start disappearing. They should also consider payment directly to landlords once an attestment letter is received from a tenant unable to pay rent due to Covid. An expedited approval for HAP benefits paid through existing HUD programs would be the least costly and quickest to set up. Or the status quo will continue with a stalemate on any Covid relief action.

  36. Ellen Frey
    REPLY
    Ellen3 says

    As a retired person living on a pension having a rental property is the only way to pay your own taxes in NY. I am relieved that you are fighting for us.

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