U.S. Apartment Renters Owe $70 Billion in Unpaid Rent Amid Covid

New York, NY, January 20, 2021-Renters have racked up a stunning $70 billion in unpaid rent since the start of the economic crisis cause by the coronavirus, according  to an analysis of Census data by Moody’s Analytics and reported by Wealthmanagement.com. 

“Top tier properties tend to have tenants who have been less affected by the pandemic and who have been able to continue to pay regularly. Meanwhile class-B and class-C apartments, where residents have been more likely to have hours cut or lost their jobs entirely, have increasingly struggling to collect rents, especially as the federal government was slow to extend further aid after initial rounds of legislation helped keep many Americans afloat throughout the first half of 2020. 

“Though most renters at professionally-managed apartment properties are still paying rent, many smaller and lower tier apartment properties are facing more serious problems. The investors who own these properties are often vulnerable and the properties themselves are often too small to attract institutional capital.”