Don’t penalize landlords
The most recent COVID-19 relief package extended an 11th-hour national moratorium on evictions for certain tenants until Jan. 31. That announcement arrived as thousands of residents in Pennsylvania hovered on the brink of eviction, pushed there by pandemic-related financial hardship. The relief package also bans foreclosures on properties with Federal Housing Administration-secured mortgages.
Part of the reasoning for the ban is a correlation between eviction rates and coronavirus transference and mortality rates. More people out on the streets or crowding into shared-living situations can increase the risk of COVID19 spread.
Millions of Americans are behind on their rent, struggling to keep a roof over their heads, scraping to keep food on the table. And evictions add a black mark to renters’ housing records that could dog them for years to come.
Thus, the eviction ban is a compassionate and a smart public health move.
In January, lawmakers in the Keystone State did the feds one better, setting in motion a plan to extend the relief even further. Legislation has been introduced that would extend the eviction moratorium statewide two months beyond the end of Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency declaration, which expires in February. The end of the disaster declaration doesn’t mean the end of the disaster, they acknowledged. The ban would be extended until at least April under the proposed legislation.
This measure is supportable. But, as noble as extending the ban may seem, there must be caveats. Because someone pays the piper. In this case, it could be those who own the properties being leased.
Lawmakers must not lose sight of the impact on landlords. Simply banning evictions transposes the costs of rent from renters to landlords. In the case of many family-owned properties, rental payments often are keys to making the mortgage payments for the properties.
One study by the Global Investment Bank suggests that rent owed to landlords since the national eviction ban went into effect in September could be as high as $24 billion in the U.S.
The current federal relief package includes funding for rental assistance and for direct payments to struggling landlords. This is important. Pennsylvania lawmakers should take notice.
If the state extends the eviction moratorium, there must be a plan to assist landlords, too. Many may face foreclosure when deprived of rental income.
The state already has missed out on $108 million in state funding assistance for renters and property owners due to processing issues and the way the funding was set to be allocated. This is governmental malpractice, given the number of Pennsylvanians struggling.
The state must be more thoughtful in its plans to assist renters and residents. Good intentions are worth nothing unless they result in real relief for everyone who needs it, not just a shifting of burden from one set of shoulders to another.