The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) found on its Rent Payment Tracker that 90% of housing households in the US had paid either a full or partial rent by August 20.
NMHC surveyed 11.4 million units of professionally managed housing units nationwide. August results are down 2.1% compared to July, where 91.3% paid rent through July 20th. Although August was down from July, it is up 0.8% from April, with the lowest drop being 89.2% in rent collected through April 20, and as can be seen from the figure below, 2019 had through As of August 20, 92.1% of residential households were paying rent.
Since the end of the CARES bill in July granting additional unemployment benefits of $ 600, there have been concerns as to whether it would affect whether or not people could pay their bills. The COVID-19 pandemic spiked unemployment rates as businesses closed after mandatory safeguards were put in place. According to the US Department of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is now 10.2%.
In early August, President Donald Trump passed an executive measure that provides additional unemployment benefits of $ 300. So far, 30 federal states have been approved for federal funding. Funds are guaranteed for three weeks, which means Congress would have to pass other laws to extend the benefits.
"Legislators in Congress and in the administration need to come back to the table and work together on comprehensive legislation that will protect and support tens of millions of American renters by expanding unemployment benefits and providing much-needed rental support," said Doug Bibby, president of the NMHC. “The industry remains encouraged by the degree to which residents have prioritized their housing commitments, but each day means more stress for individuals and families, and greater risk for the country's housing sector. If policy makers want to prevent a health and economic crisis from quickly turning into a real estate crisis, they should act quickly to provide tenants with financial support. "
The rental payment dates extended through the rest of August will be updated on the NMHC website on August 31st.
