Experts explore the near- and long-term landscape of rental housing management.
The past 18 months have presented myriad challenges for rental housing providers across the nation. Largely, these difficulties have been borne from legislation and regulation adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two resident experts at the National Apartment Association (NAA), Nicole Upano, Director of Public Policy, and Ayiesha Beverly, Assistant Vice President of Legal, led a dynamic discussion on what the industry landscape will look like near-term and down the road during NAA’s Apartmentalize conference.
Since their initial enaction, eviction moratoria have left renters with insurmountable debt and rental housing providers to unfairly hold the bag, ultimately jeopardizing the future of affordable and sustainable housing. In early August, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) moved forward with a more targeted federal eviction moratorium aimed at halting evictions in areas with high transmission of COVID-19. On August 26, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the stay on the CDC’s federal eviction order. In essence, Beverly emphasized that this ruling “immediately lifted the CDC’s eviction order” nationwide.
The Court’s ruling, however, does not apply to any state or local eviction moratoria. Further, despite this ruling, Upano noted that “there will be efforts to extend state and local moratoria going forward.” Further, the Supreme Court’s ruling made it explicitly clear that “in order for another federal eviction moratorium to come about, it would need explicit congressional authorization,” added Beverly. Upano added that any path to congressional passage is unlikely. In light of this, Upano suggested that instead, “they’re [the federal government] going to put restrictions on the [rental assistance funds],” Upano projected.
Both Beverly and Upano noted the distribution of these key rental assistance funds has been slow. To date, only 11% of the nearly $47 billion in federal rental assistance - just $5.1 billion in total - has reached renters and housing providers in need as of July 31st. Ultimately, these funds are a critical down payment in making both renters and housing providers whole again. NAA’s robust advocacy helped urge Congress to allocate these funds, and Upano emphasized that our network of affiliated associations will continue to work with state and local grantees to ensure that these funds start being distributed more quickly.
In addition, NAA’s estimates place $26.6 billion in additional rent debt that will remain uncovered by rental assistance even once the full $47 billion is disbursed. In addition to other legal cases that Beverly recounted, NAA recently launched a lawsuit seeking this amount in damages from the federal government for rental housing providers who have suffered under the CDC’s unlawful federal eviction order.
Beverly also pointed to increased eviction protection notification requirements enacted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Similarly, Beverly noted that other states are enacting eviction moratorium “off-ramps.” For instance, Beverly pointed out some states “place further eviction moratoriums for [rental housing providers] that accept rental assistance from a resident.” While many states are addressing this differently, these slow and gradual exits to eviction moratoriums are becoming more frequent throughout the country.
Ultimately, Upano and Beverly noted that the pandemic’s long-term impact on the industry will be seen in legislation and regulation moving forward. Namely, both the White House and other executive agencies remain focused on connecting renters with assistance and are encouraging states and localities to adopt eviction diversion programs. Further, Beverly added that understanding these complex and ever-changing legal updates can be challenging and that “now’s the time to work very closely with your local counsel to ensure that you’re able to move smoothly through the process.”