With many federal unemployment benefits introduced in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic set to expire at the end of the month, it’s feared that millions of Americans could face eviction from their homes.
home evictions
HousingWire reports that almost 44 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March when the pandemic began. And with 110 million people in the U.S. living in rented homes, the Aspen Institute has warned that millions are likely to evicted as they’ll be unable to continue paying their rent. Indeed, it estimates up to 23 million renters could be kicked out of their homes by the end of September.
Some Boston Landlords are in trouble too
The problem as I see it, in the Boston real estate market is that for many renters the owners of these condominiums and apartments they live in are at risk too, and cannot afford to be sympathetic to their plight. As they might lose their Boston condo to bank foreclosures.
The owners that are most likely to be affected by the eviction crisis right now are those who have one or two Boston condominiums they’re renting out and don’t have the financial cushion to make ends meet over a period of months when they’re not receiving the rent in order to pay their mortgage.
Real Estate and the Bottom Line
There is some good news at least. Gov. Baker is working on establishing short term emergency rental assistance programs to help out residents. In addition, some foundations and nonprofit organizations have created emergency funds for struggling renters. Meanwhile, rental groups have called on Massachusetts lawmakers to extend eviction moratoriums and require landlords to accept repayment of past-due rent for at least six months, to give renters more time to find a solution.
