Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
As expected the CDC extended the eviction moratorium a month to July 31st and I suspect they will extend it again in a month. The reason cited is basically that some state governments have been ineffective and distributing rent relief. This ignores the reality that many states were effective and in many cases the tenants hiding behind the moratorium don't qualify for assistance. So we have a weird situation. You don't need to prove hardship to not be evicted, but you do need to prove hardship to get assistance. The government won't lift the moratorium until everyone gets assistance, but many don't qualify. Call it a catch 22 or a $hit show, but it is landlords that are paying the price. Write your congressman an email today and let them know you are a voter.
The reason for the extension was to allow time for housing assistance to be distributed to those behind in their rent/mortgages. HUD offered this contact number for renters to find a local housing assistance program in their market: 1-800-569-4287. There is no excuse for a tenant not to seek assistance, apply for jobs (the market is screaming for workers), and file for unemployment. Let them know that your expectation is that they be proactive in finding solutions for unpaid rent - as it is not going to be "forgotten and forgiven." What you can do to protect your investment:
File a Small Claims Lawsuit (inexpensive and can be done online in most municipalities); it is not part of the moratorium. File for the full amount owed to you. Get your judgement so the tenant isn't able to get a new car, apartment, phone, more - before you get paid.
Schedule and perform a routine and regular inspection of the property/unit; if any lease violations are found, they are outside the scope of the moratorium and you can go ahead and get your eviction.
You can also offset the security deposit to make yourself whole if your state allows it be used for unpaid rent.
Go ahead and file the paperwork (Notice To Quit) so you're in line when the moratorium ends if it comes to eviction.
Without a doubt, this has been a big dose of stupid thrust upon us. Take action today to ensure that you get all that is due your business. Best...
Regarding rent relief programs. (I am close w someone who works on these contracts)
They are taking applications in phases and are having trouble finding qualified candidates and basically can't get rid of the money. So they will change the parameters and ease the requirements and call it phase 2, and when that doesn't work they iniate phase 3...
At some point some states will allow landlords to file a claim so keep watching for updates and changes to your states program.
The reason most don't qualify is because they did not experience a decrease or loss in pay. Many experienced a increase in their income with unemployment yet still decided to not pay their rent.
They must be more strict up there in NY. Here it looks like they will pretty much approve a box of rocks if they say they lost income due to covid but I really do think most of my tenants that applied actually did lose hours and income until fairly recently. I would guess, (and I don't *really* know and don't want to know) that only a couple are just kind of taking advantage of an opportunity to get someone else to cover their rent for a few months.
I'll be glad when this is over, but at this point, I still expect to exit the moratorium fully collected whether or not my last waiting tenant applicant is funded by gov. money.
I did not say this info came solely from the state of NY. It's mutiple states having same issue which is why they keep relaxing the requirements more and more to get qualified applicants. It is a FACT that many people applying for rent relief do not qualify initially because they did not experience a loss in income. They made more off of unemployment than they did previously at their normal pay. This is not opinion this is fact.
The requirements come from the federal govt as well as the funds. Although I do believe the states can add additional requirements on top if they like.
I did not say this info came solely from the state of NY. It's mutiple states having same issue which is why they keep relaxing the requirements more and more to get qualified applicants. It is a FACT that many people applying for rent relief do not qualify initially because they did not experience a loss in income. They made more off of unemployment than they did previously at their normal pay. This is not opinion this is fact.
The requirements come from the federal govt as well as the funds. Although I do believe the states can add additional requirements on top if they like.
My reply to your assertion that not everyone qualifies did not dispute that fact and was not intended to be a confrontational post... My comments were simply relaying my (substantial) experiences with the administration of aid in my state and I assumed (wrongly, it seems) that you were speaking as a landlord dealing with aid applications in your own state.
here is what I say. Unfortunately in the current economic climate some landlords will have to sell their properties. If you have 100 or so it just will bring on more troubles. You will have to screen better. Stuffing warm bodies in places will no longer work on a massive scale. It will be more challenging for those with C and D class properties.
As expected the CDC extended the eviction moratorium a month to July 31st and I suspect they will extend it again in a month. The reason cited is basically that some state governments have been ineffective and distributing rent relief. This ignores the reality that many states were effective and in many cases the tenants hiding behind the moratorium don't qualify for assistance. So we have a weird situation. You don't need to prove hardship to not be evicted, but you do need to prove hardship to get assistance. The government won't lift the moratorium until everyone gets assistance, but many don't qualify. Call it a catch 22 or a $hit show, but it is landlords that are paying the price. Write your congressman an email today and let them know you are a voter.
There are groups like the National Apartment Association that lobby on behalf of landlords. Many local associations will get you membership in this national group. I encourage all landlords to join these groups as a source of information, networking and for the lobbying work they do.