Rent and Covid-19-our letter to tenants
Below is the email that we just sent out to our tenants. Keep in mind, most people don't pay rent just because they fear eviction...Most people pay their rent because they are honest and they honor their contracts. Your tenants chose to make your property their home because the liked it and thought it was a good fit for themselves and their family. Most people (in the USA) understand that landlords are in business to make a profit and tenants are (by-and-large) ok with that so long as they get good value for their money. Most of my low income tenants are hard workers that don't want a handout -- many are proud of the fact that they can and are making it in market rate housing without government assistance! I still at this point think most of our tenants that can pay rent will pay rent. We'll see. I thought I'd share our letter. Do you think I'm a pollyanna?
date
Dear tenant firstname
While this unprecedented national emergency has upended life as we know it, I hope this letter finds you still healthy and financially secure. We at {our company} are thankfully still healthy but we have already had three tenants report job loss and several others who have experienced reductions in work hours.
We want you all to know that we will work with any tenants who find themselves unemployed as a result of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) disease and (God forbid) any tenants who should contract the disease and must self-quarantine or be hospitalized without adequate income to cover their rent. We are asking those who are out of work and those who have had their hours cut to IMMEDIATELY apply for unemployment benefits (which are now available with no waiting period), and then to call us right away to work out a reduced and/or deferred payment plan so that we are able to plan how to pay our bills. We, like so many others, will be dealing with a reduced income for the duration of this crisis.
We are really counting on those of you who will continue to receive regular checks from Uncle Sam (SS, SSI, or SSDI) and those of you who are in industries where you are able to maintain your employment, to PLEASE continue to pay your rent as promptly as possible so that we will be able to pay our bills and our mortgages while we work with your less fortunate neighbors.
As you may have heard, evictions and HUD foreclosures are currently on hold. This hold applies only to evictions for non-payment; however, court hearings are still available in cases of domestic violence or other situations where there is a danger to other residents or household members (included just in case you know someone that needs this information).
At some point, this crisis will end and at that time unpaid bills and mortgages will still be due. With our commercial loans, late mortgage payments can mean reductions in credit available, punishing interest rates, a called loan, a forced sale, or even foreclosure when civil courts are once again functioning. Because none of us yet knows what assistance will be available and in what form, we will need for tenants facing loss of income and needing reduced or deferred rent payments due to COVID19 to provide us with documentation. If this emergency drags on (as we fear that it may) and we are overwhelmed we will need that information to be able to document our situation should we attempt to seek a disaster loan from the small business administration (the only direct small business assistance being discussed at this time).
We are watching the situation closely and we are seriously hoping to see some concrete financial help from the government very SOON. It is our belief that the best way congress can help small businesses like ours that must continue providing service throughout this crisis with significantly reduced income is to provide robust financial assistance to our fellow citizens that have lost their jobs so that they are able to pay their rent and other bills throughout this crisis.
There are several plans in news:
- Congress is working on a stimulus package: Democrats want to provide increased (full salary replacement) unemployment benefits and expanded medicaid to the unemployed and paid sick leave to those who have jobs but are quarantined as a result of the virus for the duration of the crisis. Republicans want to provide one or two cash payments of $600-1200 directly to taxpayers that earned $2500- $99000/year in taxable income. They are working on a compromise now.
- Also, note that Dominion (gas) and First Energy (electric), have suspended utility shut-offs during the COVID19 crisis; And you can be sure that we need your payment more than they do ;)
- If you are out of work, you can apply for rent assistance from the Catholic Charities DIocese of Cleveland (CCDOC) ###-###-####. These are usually one time grants, not loans, and do not need to be repaid.
- The deadline for filing tax returns has been extended to July 15; however, if you believe you are due a refund, you can and should file ASAP to take advantage of this additional income.
To those of you who are caregivers, medical personnel, and retail workers who are by necessity still out there dealing with the public -- you are the heros in this crisis and we want to recognize the risk you are taking by getting up and going to work each day.
And should any of our residents be required to self-quarantine because you contract the virus or have had contact with an infectious person, don’t hesitate to CALL us for help in obtaining groceries and supplies.
Try to stay well.
Sincerely,
{Jill and family}
P.S. One minor thing… we’re glad everyone is using disinfecting wipes like crazy but please, please don’t flush wipes!!! Even ‘flushable’ wipes do bad things to the drains. Ty.