LANSING, Mich. — Rent payments are about to be due again. Many don't know how they're going to come up with the money. Alicia Nieves looks at an urgent plea for help as our country works to rebound.
After weeks of social distancing and stay-at-home orders some states are starting to re-open as they look to help businesses.Tens of millions of Americans have had to file for unemployment since March. As a result, 1 in 4 of renters and homeowners were unable to pay their rent or mortgage in April.
“We expect May to be a potentially slower start than April.” Doug Vivvy is with the National Multifamily Housing Council. “all the small businesses have shutdown. We expect there to be more stress on the system, there has to be.”
Some cities and states have created new rental assistance programs. For example, in Dallas and Los Angeles, those who make 80% below the area median income could have up to half their rent or mortgage paid in May. At least two dozen other cities and states have a similar program. But the NMHC and the National Apartment Association say it’s not enough.
The House is working on a bill that would set aside $100 billion in assistance for renters, and $75 billion for homeowners, including landlords. “the perception is that this is a very high-margin, very profitable business and if you really and truly look at the numbers the profit margin that you have from a dollar of rent is about nine cents.” Bob Penniger with the NAA believes it is critical that a federal housing assistance package is holistic in including renters, homeowners, and landlords otherwise we could see a potential domino effect. “it is very critical that congress take action to address this If they don’t help us, and helping us is really helping the residents to be able to pay the rent and bridge this gap, you are going to end up with a housing stock that is going to be of lower quality on the other side of this and you could have a wave of foreclosures that could affect residential housing.”
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