Nearly 88 Percent of Renters Have Paid Rent This Month
The just-released figures from NMHC came one day after unemployment claims in the U.S. hit 36.5 million.
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Across the U.S., 87.7 percent of renters have paid full or partial rent by May 13, according to just-released figures from the National Multifamily Housing Council’s rent payment tracker.
The report comes one day after the latest job figures showed 36.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment.
By comparison, during the same time period last year, 89.8 percent of renters paid full or partial rent payments by May 13, 2019. Last week’s report from NMHC, which gave the first look at May’s numbers, showed that 80.2 percent of renters had paid by May 6.
The data was pulled from 11.4 million professionally managed rental units across the country that vary widely by size, type and average rental price. This week’s report is the latest in the series from the NMHC Rent Payment Tracker, an initiative that partners with industry firms Entrata, MRI Software, RealPage, ResMan and Yardi.
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While the numbers are encouraging, NMHC President Doug Bibby cautioned that the data does not necessarily reflect conditions for all landlords across the country.
“It’s important to understand that our metric does not capture rent payments for smaller landlords or for affordable and subsidized properties,” said Bibby in prepared remarks.
“These excluded properties are the ones more likely to house residents experiencing financial stress. In addition, as current federal support programs begin to reach their limit, it will be even more critical for Congress to enact a meaningful renter assistance program. It’s the only way to avoid adding a housing crisis to our health and economic crisis.”
Earlier this week, a report from data and analytics firm Amherst found that more than 60 percent of households in the U.S. have not received any housing relief from the government. Leaders in the multifamily industry have continued to call for more federal relief for renters, the need of which has been estimated to be between $76 billion and $100 billion.
