The government gets their taxes. The banks will get their mortgage payments (or a property). But many small landlords in New York City's five boroughs haven't received rent for 18 months.
New York City's COVID-19 eviction moratorium began in March 2020 and has just been extended to January 2022.
Tenants who have paid no rent during the moratorium are still liable to make good, but many have racked up thousands of dollars in back rent that will be difficult to collect.
Mom-and-pop landlords — the people who rent out a basement or a second floor of their private homes — are in danger of losing their homes, experts say. Small landlords use their properties to supplement their income and pay their mortgages.
Nationwide, most of the nation's landlords are individual investors. They own about 23 million units in 17 million properties, according to the U.S. Census. More than 6 million renter households are behind on rent, also according to the Census.
In New York City alone, about half a million evictions were set to commence before the eviction moratorium was extended to January — which suggests a gigantic impending housing crisis.
New York City is one of the toughest places to be a landlord, with rent control, repair regulations and restrictions on on rent increases.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.