Rental Relief

Sometime this year, the federal Centers for Disease Control will likely end the rental eviction moratorium that has enabled millions of tenants to remain in their homes while the nation struggles with the economic fallout caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The moratorium was scheduled to expire last month but was extended until June 30.

It is unclear how much rental debt is saddling the nearly one in five households that the U.S. Census Bureau says are behind on their payments.

However, the Los Angeles Times newspaper recently cited a study by Moody’s Analytics and the Urban Institute that estimated that 9.4 million U.S. households owe $5,586 each in back rent, utilities and related fees as of January 2021, amounting to a total potential liability of $52.6 billion.

Unraveling the moratorium will likely pose a huge political challenge for President Joseph Biden and federal housing officials, who are undoubtedly wary of the specter of millions of tenants cast out on the streets by landlords because they cannot pay back rent.

Under CDC rules, renters having trouble paying, have to apply for assistance and meet eligibility guidelines. They must provide their landlords with a declaration that they tried to obtain government housing assistance, that they don’t earn more than $99,000 a year and that they are unable to pay their rent due to loss of income, among other requirements. Tenants can still get evicted for lease violations other than non-payment of rent.

According to the CDC, federal, state and local eviction bans led to a million fewer evictions in 2020 than the previous year. There were about 131,000 eviction hearings in Virginia in 2020, a 30 percent decrease from the 186,000 evictions in 2019. 

Even if Congress passes President Biden’s recently unveiled $2 trillion infrastructure plan, which includes $213 billion for low and middle income housing assistance, the proposal will likely come too late for the more than 9 million tenants that are behind on their rent. And cities and states, too, are short on the resources needed to address the rental crisis since tax revenue from landlords and many other businesses, such as restaurants, theaters and sports venues, have fallen the wake of the pandemic.

In view of these challenges, it is important that state and federal officials come up with a plan that protects both landlords and tenants as the transition to the end of the moratorium looms. Meanwhile, Virginia tenants and landlords needing financial support can visit the state’s Rental Relief Program or the similar help available at Fairfax County’s online rental support portal.