A Look at 2020 Affordable Housing Rent Payment Performance

Affordable housing rent payments and evictions have become big concerns among low-income housing operators. As job cuts and the pandemic continue to grind away at the economy, late rent and non-payments are affecting bottom lines. And eviction moratoriums which could keep non-paying residents in apartments for months are equally distressing. In the last 10 months, affordable properties across the country have experienced the effects of eviction freezes and past-due rent. The percentage of rent payments made at month’s end has dipped 2.5%, to 86.3% nationwide. The number is slightly higher than the decline in rent payments for affordable housing’s conventional counterpart, the Class C sector, which has fallen to 93.8% according to industry data. In a recent RealPage webcast, hosted by Greg Proctor, RealPage’s Affordable Housing Market Leader, more than half of viewers said they were concerned about evictions and their ramifications. Protecting the back door – trying to retain residents – is always a concern in the Class C space, notes RealPage Deputy Economist Jay Parsons. Now, he says, eyes have to be on the front door, “because who you let in could really impact your rent roll, especially in an environment where you can't evict people.” “We've seen some cases in certain markets where eviction moratoriums are so broad that even fraudulent renters are not allowed to be evicted,” he explains. “There are stories in the news recently about this, where we've seen, obviously, renter fraud has been on the rise anyway.” Rent payment data shows truer picture The story of the state of the affordable housing industry has been overshadowed by attention on higher income renters in market rate housing, says Parsons. But helpful data does exist. One way to analyze the market is to take a look at the conventional Class C segment, the naturally occurring affordable housing. Class C comprises the lowest-priced c...