Avoiding eviction
Many renters unaware of rules that can help them stay
When Leticia Riascos’ property management company moved to evict her, she had no idea she may be protected by policies meant to aid those harmed by the pandemic.
Instead, she watched in frustration and disbelief as workers changed the lock on her apartment weeks after her job grilling burgers and hot dogs for crowds at NRG Stadium had been cut, an early casualty of the novel coronavirus.
“Is this really happening right now?” she recalled thinking.
Raiscos is among a large number people of unaware of policies meant to keep renters and homeowners in their homes during the economic crisis spurred by the pandemic.
Sixty-nine percent of renters and roughly half of federal mortgage holders responding to a Fannie Mae survey said they were not aware of measures taken in response to the pandemic to suspend foreclosures and evictions. Half of mortgage holders did not know what forbearance, or temporary deferral of monthly payments, meant. More than 60 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were unaware of a mortgage payment deferral offer from their lender.
With Texas eviction proceedings having resumed May 19 and Harris County foreclosure auctions resuming Tuesday, that could put both renters and homeowners in unnecessary financial distress.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, passed in March, has made homeowners with government-backed mortgages eligible to reduce or suspend payments if they have been impacted by the
economic crisis. Renters who live in units with federally backed financing cannot be penalized or evicted for the nonpayment of rent until Aug. 23.
The protections cover 70 percent of mortgages and roughly 30 percent of renters, according to federal research. But many renters, landlords and homeowners do not understand the protections.
“It’s not something that’s clear to everyone,” said Sapna Aiyer, an attorney for the civil rights nonprofit Lone Star Legal Aid. “Your best defense is to know whether or not your property is subject to the federal moratorium and the (CARES) Act. …
But a lot of people don’t even know to ask or how to check.”
Aiyer said it’s possible that renters protected by the CARES Act could be evicted because they do not know their rights. While Texas landlords must fill out a form swearing that the CARES Act does not apply to their building — meaning it does not have federal assistance or federally related financing — before they can file an eviction, it’s up to renters and their lawyers to protest if landlords are mistaken, she said.
“How do you know your loan wasn’t sold to Fannie or Freddie?” she asked. “What tools did you use? It’s our job to dig into it.”
To educate homeowners and renters of their options, the government-sponsored
mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced that they are rolling out awareness campaigns.
“While we have taken unprecedented action to help millions of owners and renters struggling due to this pandemic, our efforts cannot be fully effective without widespread awareness,” David Brickman, Freddie Mac’s CEO, said in a release.
Homeowners and renters can look up whether their home is covered by the CARES Act by checking to see if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are backing the loan. Fannie Mae’s look-up tools are at knowyouroptions.com, and Freddie Mac’s are at myhome.freddiemac.com. Homeowners with mortgages not covered by the act are still encouraged to contact their servicer to see what options are availabl.
There are also federally backed buildings that do not have loans owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Aiyer explained — for example, apartment buildings that benefit from federal tax credits. Renters in such buildings are also protected.
Riascos was able to secure an attorney from Lone Star Legal Aid who hopes he will be able to use her lockout, which he said took place during the state’s moratorium on evictions, to allow her to stay. But to Riascos, the piecemeal policies meant to keep her in place until she can regain her financial footing still seem opaque and uncertain.
“I don’t know,” she said. “We’ll see.”