HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – Eviction pressure is growing as apartment residents try to avoid COVID-19 while protecting their health, keeping jobs, and maintaining a roof over their heads. As the coronavirus crisis continues, many renters face mounting unpaid bills and the increasing risk of eviction.
In August, for the fourth consecutive month, roughly one in three Americans did not make a full, on-time housing payment by the middle of the month. Late and missed housing payments are accumulating, placing severe financial strain on families and heightening the risk of near-term evictions, according to the Apartment List Monthly Housing Payment Survey.
The threat is especially acute in Houston, where a local eviction moratorium is no longer in effect.
Protests in Houston: Tenants Demand Relief
Last week in Houston, demonstrators gathered outside the Harris County Courthouse annex on Chimney Rock Road holding signs that read “Stop Evictions” and “Housing is a Human Right,” according to the Houston Chronicle. Inside the courthouse, the paper reported, Judge Russ Ridgway was managing a heavy eviction docket, which spurred a protest organized by a group calling itself the Tenants Union.
Protesters chanted slogans expressing frustration and anger at the prospect of widespread evictions. The demonstrations emphasize how the end of federal protections and the expiration of many local and state bans have left a large share of renters exposed.
By August, 32 percent of renters and homeowners had entered the month with unpaid rent, and more than 20 percent were behind by over $1,000. The Apartment List findings show that unpaid housing obligations are widespread.
The survey also shows some landlords are willing to negotiate payment plans to keep units occupied. Among renters with unpaid housing bills, 49 percent have either worked out or are in the process of negotiating an arrangement with their property owners.
Nonetheless, smaller multifamily investors with limited capital reserves warn that prolonged rent delinquency can create unsustainable financial pressure for landlords. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has noted growing concerns about possible foreclosures in the sector.
Multifamily tenants who can work remotely are more likely to remain employed and current on rent, while properties that serve a predominantly blue-collar tenant base tend to show higher delinquency rates. Houston-based multifamily advisory firm ApartmentData.com observed that rent collection may become a major challenge as Congress considers additional economic relief.
NMHC: Many Households Under Financial Stress
The NMHC’s Rent Payment Tracker, which surveys 11.4 million professionally managed apartment units nationwide, reported that 86.9 percent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by Aug. 13. That represents a two-percentage-point decline—about 222,543 households—compared with the same period in 2019, and a small decrease compared with July 13, 2020 when 87.6 percent had paid.
These figures cover a broad range of market-rate rental properties across the United States and vary by size, type, and average rent. NMHC President Doug Bibby emphasized the need for further federal action: lawmakers and the administration should return to the negotiating table to craft comprehensive COVID-19 relief. He said that while many residents have continued to meet housing obligations, much of that resilience stemmed from measures enacted under the CARES Act, and with that support expiring, households are facing increased financial distress.
NMHC is urging Congress to extend critical unemployment benefits and to create a rental assistance fund so millions of apartment residents can remain safely and securely housed.
Evictions pose risks not only to renters but also to landlords. NMHC highlights the difficult choice property owners face: pursue eviction to recover unpaid rent or allow a struggling tenant to remain in hopes of eventual repayment. With high unemployment and uncertainty in the rental market, vacant units can be hard to re-rent, producing extended revenue losses for owners. For that reason, many landlords are choosing to negotiate repayment plans and offer temporary leniency to tenants in financial distress.
Still, as unpaid housing debt grows, both eviction and foreclosure risks increase. Although some landlords and lenders are willing to negotiate, housing security remains at risk for an unprecedented number of Americans.
Aug. 24, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
File: Eviction Pressure Mounts
File: (2) Eviction pressure mounts as NMHC Rent Payment Tracker found that 86.9 percent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by Aug. 13. 8-24-20
