The Eviction Tidal Wave is Coming

Sign in LA (marketplace.org)

Last month we wrote about the extension of eviction moratoriums to 2021:

There is a next-to-zero chance of collecting the unpaid rent once a tenant moves out, so basically the State will have taken tens of $thousands per rental unit from property owners in order to effect public policy.

Many owners cannot afford to go without rent for a year. I know elderly landlords who rent out their homes to pay, partially, for their assisted living apartments, which cost $10,000 per month. I know another single-property owner who is taking her condo off the market.

Nationally, defaulting renters number in the millions and unpaid rent is in the $billions:

Moody’s Analytics estimates that [outstanding rent debt] could reach nearly $70 billion by year-end if there is no additional stimulus spending. The economic-research firm calculated that 12.8 million Americans would then owe an average of $5,400 from missed payments.

Small landlords have not been granted relief from property taxes, nor can they defer loan payments because their debt is categorized as commercial, not residential.

All the sympathy has been directed to the tenants who can't pay, but give a thought to the landlords whose properties are in effect being taken because of the State decreeing that legal agreements are not enforceable in one direction.

The eviction of millions, as well as repossessions of thousands of rental properties, will be upon us soon after November 3rd. Though many publications have written about it, looming evictions have not captured the imagination, and politicians have not been asked to come up with solutions.

That's too bad, because real estate experience could have been relevant in the election, and it's a mystery why the media didn't mention it more.