1 in 3 renters have paid no rent in April, trade group frets

Only 69 percent of tenants paid any rent in the first five days of April, down from 81 percent in March and 82 percent in April 2019, the National Multifamily Housing Council, a landlord trade group, and real estate data firms reported Wednesday. The 31 percent of tenants who have paid no rent is a worrisome sign for landlords as the coronavirus outbreak roils the economy, but some of the renters may still pay later this month and electronic payments are possibly still being processed, NMHC said.

"The higher rate of people failing to pay rent was anticipated, given the 6.6 million new applications for unemployment benefits" last week, The Wall Street Journal notes. Many of the renters are protected from eviction by a patchwork of federal and local coronavirus emergency measures, but fewer than a third of U.S. rental units are financed through government-backed mortgages and thus eligible for the deferred mortgage payments authorized by Congress last month.

The data on unpaid rent is based on 13.4 million higher-end rental units, and it does not include single-family homes or public or subsidized housing. Real estate analysts and financial interests are concerned that a rise in unpaid rent could have adverse affects on the wider real estate market and mortgage-backed investments.

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