The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Rental Property Management: Insights from a Chicago Case Study American Bar Foundation, December 7, 2021
In this report, authors Anna Reosti and Allison Suppan Helmuth draw on in-depth interviews with 69 small-scale landlords in the Chicago area to document their responses to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Independently owned, small rental properties (SRPs) make up an outsized share of the nation’s supply of unsubsidized affordable housing in the private market, which is often referred to as “naturally occurring affordable housing.” The authors find that the majority of landlords in this study used flexible and accommodating approaches to property management during the pandemic. However, a sizeable minority (approximately one-fifth) of landlords whom they interviewed described taking up or planning to adopt more rigid and risk-averse management
practices in response to the financial challenges of the pandemic, such as raising rents, fees, and implementing more exhaustive and restrictive tenant screening criteria.
As Renter Protections End, Emergency Rental Assistance Is Critical. Why Haven't More Landlords and Tenants Applied for It?
Urban Institute, November 1, 2021
Awareness of federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA)—which covers back rent, future rent, utility arrearages, future utility costs, and other expenses incurred as a result of the pandemic—has grown dramatically with the slow but steady increase of fund allocation. Despite this, many landlords and tenants are still unsure of whether they qualify, and they are not applying—which means people who need assistance still aren’t getting it.
Tracking Rent Payments to Mom-and-Pop Landlords Urban Institute, Updated December 1, 2021
Using data provided by Avail, this data tool tracks monthly rent payments in units owned by independent mom-and-pop landlords since January 2020.
