Wyoming opened their Emergency Rental Assistance Program two weeks ago. As of today, they've only received 2,500 applications, totaling $5 million in rent and utility assistance. The program has $160 million available. I just read that Long Island has only spent 5% of their assistance funds. Cook County, Illinois has one of the highest application rates I could find, using about 20% of the available funds. Why aren't more people applying? Could it be they stopped paying rent without justification and won't qualify for assistance? Or were the number of non-paying tenants simply exaggerated so states could get their hands on more money? Personally, I have eight tenants that applied for assistance out of 400 rentals. Of those eight, seven are behind on less than one month of rent, mostly due to unpaid utilities or late fees. Only one tenant is behind on several months of rent. He stopped making payments two months ago when he learned rental assistance would be coming available, even though he found a new job and has been employed for the last two months. We're waiting to see what assistance he receives, then we will demand he catch up in 30 days or face eviction. I have one more tenant (my worst case) that has not paid rent in six months. She has not completed the application for rental assistance. We've given her everything she needs, multiple times, but she claimed she didn't have an email (she's 45 and has an active facebook page), then she claimed she didn't have a computer (free at the local library) and that she couldn't figure out the forms (several organizations are specifically set up to help her and we've offered to help her in the office). She never answers our calls or knocks on her door, but she does eventually call us back after hours and leaves messages complaining about how she needs help. She has been unemployed for over a year and has two functional vehicles, yet she can't find time to come to the office or call us during work hours. This has been going on for almost two months in hopes we could get assistance and catch her up. I finally gave up this week and filed a 3-day Notice. We will file for eviction on Tuesday.

Why are so few applying for rental assistance?

Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

@Nathan Gesner like you, the vast vast vast majority of our tenants are and have been doing fine during COVID. We are around the same % as you, around 2% of both our and our clients portfolio have filed for assistance with the state of MI EDP (last year) or CERA (This year) programs. Last year NARPM was doing monthly surveys of their members and they found that well over 90% of the mangers said rent collections were very similar to the previous years level.

For those that need it, it is a life line though.

Could also be regional. We all know some places/states were hit much harder than others.

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Adam Martin

Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

5y

I see renters behind their rent as a major problem however not widespread. Whey you look at the averages of past due rent, assuming you believe them, they are high. I assume however that it is only a handful of renters that are behind and they are behind by a lot. In many states you have to accept a lesser amount and forgive the rest and I'm sure there are landlords that won't accept anything but the full amount so they don't take the payout. This seems foolish because you are not going to collect the amount you could have got from the state and certainly not the difference so I say take what you can get. Others are I'm sure like your tenant where they are behind but just not cooperating knowing that there really isn't anything in it for them to comply. These are true deadbeats and I hope once they get their head out of the sand find themselves in a rough situation for their selfishness. If they really don't have a hardship and are just taking advantage of the situation they may also be avoiding extra scrutiny with the assistance forms. My last theory and something I worry about on this site is the talk about cash for keys. Financially it makes sense to get the tenant out and if you pay less than what it would cost you to fight it out it is a win for the landlord. Practically though it seems on most posts with a difficult tenant someone will bring it up and if tenants google their situation on what to do they will see the practice. I feel we are encouraging bad behavior and many of these tenants who fell behind are going to leave when the walls of protection come down around them but negotiate forgiven debt and may even walk out with some money. While this is a business and it may be a sound business decision I feel like we are starting to set a precedent. That said I just brought it up on my own post so my own hypocrisy doesn't escape me.

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Jill F.

Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

I have a much higher percentage of tenants applying for assistance. I have had 1-8 applicants out of 55 occupied units for each round of funding out of 55 occupied units. In my county, we have had 4 rounds of funding so far with the last round being the only one where applications have been accepted for more than one week. Over half of my units are priced so that a they are affordable to "low-income" renters and over half are one bedroom units which probably is part of the reason why I've seen a relatively high application rate. The rules here changed for the last round of funding-- where people with evictions pending are prioritized which sucks because I hate to file (damaging) eviction suits on tenants that are likely to pay in the end.

Another reason we may have seen higher applications is because we put a mutually beneficial system in place for working with tenants who ( we knew) needed help but might could/would have begged, borrowed or scraped to make the rent had no aid been available.

I do expect to fully collect 100% of rent due for the entire moratorium period.

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Tracy Minick

Rental Property Investor · Monroe, WA · Member since 2018 · 177 posts · 98 votes

5y

We were successful in helping our tenants and encouraging them to apply! We fill out as much of the paperwork as we can for them! Granted, we can’t do the phone interview, but we can educate them on the process and help them understand. In many cases they simply are paralyzed from fear, ignorance or the like! We have gone as far as showing up on their door step and offering them cash to pick up the phone and call the agency for the final interview! In all cases the tenants have denied taking the cash and simply said THANK YOU!

1 Reply

Dillon Cook

Realtor · Greater Tampa Bay · Member since 2014 · 218 posts · 130 votes

5y

We also saw a very low rate of late or nonpayment the last year and a half. About 10x below national average over a large portfolio. It's great that so little assistance was needed this past year despite the worst case scenario we feared. Nearly 99% of our tenants didn't have issues paying rent, but those that did were temporarily behind, and they got back on track within a reasonable time frame. One decided to break lease due to job loss, and we worked with them to move out and re-lease asap so an eviction and additional charges were not placed on their record.

I feel for those that are dealing with tenants playing the system. Florida is friendlier to landlords than many other states are. Perhaps that has something to do with tenant mindset and gaming the system.

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

5y

I have seen NARPM reports claiming the percentage of non-paying tenants has remained steady, which may be true, but the amount each renter owes is probably significantly higher. I never allow a tenant to be more than 15 days behind on rent before initiating eviction. Now I have two that are 3-6 months behind.

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Julie Hartman

Property Manager · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 667 posts · 587 votes

5y

@Nathan Gesner I think you are correct that something is amiss with this whole thing. I am putting my money on exaggerated numbers. If you look at the job sectors that were affected most, it was hospitality which would include restaurants and travel. Most other job sectors were not affected nearly as much. I also think there are barriers to applying for assistance that many people don't want to bother with. Depending on what state they are applying in, they need to provide proof of job termination, tax records, etc. If they are claiming hardship to their landlord but don't really have the stated hardship and the landlord doesn't understand the requirements, then it's easy to get away without paying and also not applying for rental assistance. Just keep getting stimulus money and not paying rent; it's a win/win. The other problem is that many landlords don't fully understand the requirements on the tenant to provide proof of COVID protection in order to halt payments. The constant moving target that local governments have implemented are absurd and it's no wonder that people are confused. Mix all these things together and the outcome is not surprising.

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member

Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes

5y

Renter mentality if the money came to them they would be all over it.. since they have to do something and the money goes somewhere else its just not a priority I would guess.. and I also think a lot of these that did this will just up and leave when evictions start to happen..

I know BP has super landlords whose collections seem to be better during covid than normal industry vacancy rates.
But I have buddies and clients who have not gotten one dime of rent since the eviction moratorium went into effect.
Although financially a bummer it wont hurt them as they are fine well capitalized but still it sucks right?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

Renter mentality if the money came to them they would be all over it.. since they have to do something and the money goes somewhere else its just not a priority I would guess.. and I also think a lot of these that did this will just up and leave when evictions start to happen..

I know BP has super landlords whose collections seem to be better during covid than normal industry vacancy rates.
But I have buddies and clients who have not gotten one dime of rent since the eviction moratorium went into effect.
Although financially a bummer it wont hurt them as they are fine well capitalized but still it sucks right?

It doesn't go in the Tenant's pocket, but it forgives the months of rent they kept in their pocket, which is the same thing.

I think a bigger reason is that they stopped paying rent without justification and would rather not get caught.

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Gail K.

Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

5y

I have to agree with Jay. For many tenants if they were getting the money (and heaven help them if they did; the landlord would likely never see this but Walmart stock would again increase) it would be an incentive for them to actually DO something.

As it is some of these tenants have been sailing along nicely not paying rent (or not paying full rent) and still managing to remain in the rental so why should they put forth this effort?

Remember that until some states offered to PAY people to get vaccinated (and offered huge lottery incentives in some cases) some didn't get off their rear ends to do this.

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Theresa HarrisPro Member

Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes

5y

Honestly, there some who want to do what is right (ie pay their bills) and will apply. Others are lazy or don't care and want to stick it to the landlord. I had one that I ended up evicting as soon as the ban was lifted (I'm not in the US). She wanted us to feel sorry for her, but wouldn't apply for rental assistance and wasn't taking care of the place. She had money for all sorts of other things, but not rent.

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Sattir Bitti

Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 24 votes

5y

I had a tenant who stayed in the home for 9 months without paying rent, never returned calls, and didn't pay any rent. They didn't reach out to the PM. They know they cant be evicted. Only after last month after serving notice of non-renewal of the lease, they moved out.

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Sattir Bitti

Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 24 votes

5y

@Account Closed Nice of you and your landlord. Not everyone understands that every landlord is not "Mr. Potter", there are many "George Baileys" around working hard to make a future for their kids and family.

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John MorganPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

My tenant and I applied for the Texas rent relief program a few weeks ago. They haven’t approved her yet or even looked at her case. Eviction day in court is Wednesday. I’ve sent in all the paperwork for the court eviction for my tenant and they don’t seem to have any sense of urgency. I guess I’ll kick her and her 7 young kids out. She’s three months behind and owes me over 5k. Her 14k tax fund has been held up since March.

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Steve K.

Specialist · PA · Member since 2016 · 143 posts · 71 votes

5y

We filled a rental assistance application for a tenant last week. They wanted to talk to me in person because they probably didn't feel comfortable asking over the e-mail (or maybe didn't have electronic copies of the forms). We were welcoming to the fact that they are seeking Govt. assistance when required. I think they actually can use some help. They have always paid 2-3 days before the rent is due and are current on payments. I hope they get the assistance, I'm waiting to see how it goes.

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John MorganPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

@Stephen Bradford

Well they haven’t told me they would accept her into the program. She never lost her job. She hasn’t paid me a cent in 3 months. She’s always been a month or two behind since she’s been with me for about two years. She was 3 months behind around feb or March as well. I told her if she could just pay me April’s rent then I wouldn’t file for eviction. She refused to. She’s also caused over 7k in damages to my remodeled property in just two years. The last one was an unreported water leak (2nd one in the last year) that caused major mold and watery damage to all my kitchen cabinets. I had to replace them all and it wasn’t cheap. I’ve told her to report any water leak because it can cause serious damage in the past. She told me she didn’t report the last one because she was worried I would charge her for it. So a month ago I went over there and she had another major leak. Caused all my cabinets to be ruined as well as floors in the living room. Now major **** roach infestation.

It’s hard to be a charity to some of my tenants. I’ve been burned three other times by people who get s few months behind and leave me a destroyed property. Yes, I feel bad for kicking them out and as you say “destroying” their lives.

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Matt M.

Specialist · Easton, PA · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

@Nathan G.

One of my clients’ had tenants that hadn’t paid in 6 mos. They did get the paperwork together and gave to my client. He then proceeded to read the fine print about how long after he gets a government check for their rent. Reimbursement was about 60% and then you couldn’t file anything or drop a 30 day notice for 60 days. So it could have been another long period of deadbeats not paying. He didn’t proceed with the paperwork, and the working but not paying tenants Moved out on their own.

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John MorganPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @John Morgan:

@Stephen Bradford

Well they haven’t told me they would accept her into the program. She never lost her job. She hasn’t paid me a cent in 3 months. She’s always been a month or two behind since she’s been with me for about two years. She was 3 months behind around feb or March as well. I told her if she could just pay me April’s rent then I wouldn’t file for eviction. She refused to. She’s also caused over 7k in damages to my remodeled property in just two years. The last one was an unreported water leak (2nd one in the last year) that caused major mold and watery damage to all my kitchen cabinets. I had to replace them all and it wasn’t cheap. I’ve told her to report any water leak because it can cause serious damage in the past. She told me she didn’t report the last one because she was worried I would charge her for it. So a month ago I went over there and she had another major leak. Caused all my cabinets to be ruined as well as floors in the living room. Now major **** roach infestation.

It’s hard to be a charity to some of my tenants. I’ve been burned three other times by people who get s few months behind and leave me a destroyed property. Yes, I feel bad for kicking them out and as you say “destroying” their lives.

Honestly the only ones I feel any sympathy for are the kids. The woman sounds like a real nightmare and I wouldn't see anything wrong with kicking her out. I just feel bad for the innocent kids. I apologize if the tone of my post was combative or aggressive; that was not my intention.

I wish there were some kind of program or something to help kids when they have to deal with an eviction because of their parents.

No worries. I decided to cancel my court eviction case on Wednesday and give her another month to stay for free. I feel bad for kicking them out. This is a single mom with 7 kids. She works long hours and does the best she can. She owes me over 5k so it’s affecting my finances too. But I’m hoping for a miracle to get paid some day and have them stay put.

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Joe SplitrockPro Member

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Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes

5y

If landlords could evict, it would put pressure on tenants to apply or the scammers would have to leave. The politicians make excuses for people, but the reality is that it is very easy to apply for assistance and there is tons of money. Many states have a gross surplus of money. Here is why people are not applying. Some people are scammers, some are disorganized, lazy or suffer from mental disorders where they get frozen and do nothing. Bottom line, they can't be evicted so not paying doesn't hurt them. People are selfish. Even in states where the landlord can initiate the application, tenants refuse to fill in their portion. You could knock on their door with the form filled out and some would refuse to sign it.

I came up with a great solution. Open up evictions in all 50 states. Give the courts access to administer funds, similar to collecting fines, but they would issue payments. When a landlord brings a tenant into court, landlord provides proof of money owed. The tenant provides proof of hardship and they designates one of these options:

1. Tenant is a scammer who lied about hardship. Judge allows eviction to proceed and issues judgement for money owed. The court pays the landlord and transfers the debt to the US Government to be garnished from wages. (Why should the tax payers be left footing the bill for a scammer?)

2. Tenant had legitimate hardship in the past, but is back at work now. Judge blocks the eviction and allows payment for outstanding debt to the landlord. Tenant is told they must start paying rent the following month. Failure to pay rent allows the landlord an option to fast track eviction the following month.

3. Tenant had legitimate hardship and is still not working. Judge blocks eviction, pays landlord and allocates two additional months of future rent. Tenant has instructions that they must apply for rent assistance after those two months.

4. Tenant doesn't show up in court. Landlord is granted default judgment for eviction and paid back rent.

If you don't have consequences, you can't modify behavior. Eviction is a consequence that forces tenants to seek ways to pay rent. Unemployment ending or being only a fraction of a working wage is a consequence that forces people to look for jobs. Police arresting and prosecuting people is a consequence to keep people from breaking the law. This is human nature. Either these politicians are not smart or they know full well what is happening and are exploiting these situations for political gain.

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Greg M.

Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

I believe there are several factor in play here.

First is that the numbers were intentionally overblown by the media and government. The media, which has proven itself to have flat out zero credibility, pushes the far left narrative of needing the government to protect people. The politicians wanted to pretend to be the savior to the masses and they inflated the numbers so when things clear up, they can look like heroes.

Then there is the fact that many people who didn't pay rent are scared that they will get caught. Stealing from a landlord is no big thing, but stealing from the government is much more dangerous. Who is willing to sign paperwork affirming that they were negatively affected by COVID when between their unemployment and stimulus checks they are making more now than while working?

Then there is the incompetence of the governments handing out the rent assistance. In Los Angeles, they opened a 30 day window to apply. The application was confusing and asked questions such as "Future rent - Yes/No" with no explanation of what they were asking. I filled out the application and provided the tenants info and it explicitly stated that they would be contacting the tenant. They never contacted the tenant. I had to have the tenant contact them. Stupidly the tenant had to fill out paperwork, but there is no way to link the two applications together. We each have our own application number! It's been over 2 months since I filled out the paperwork and my app shows as received. No further contact from them. At this point I anticipate getting zero and I will likely non-renew the long-term tenant later this year.

1 Reply

Jerel Ehlert

Attorney · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 888 posts · 759 votes

5y

LLs and PMs need to help Ts to help them. Push and cajole tenants to apply.

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Why are so few applying for rental assistance?

Why are so few applying for rental assistance?

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