In New York, almost 44% of renters say they will struggle to pay their rent in May, according to a survey conducted by PropertyNest.
The survey revealed that 18 through 24-year-olds made up the largest age group who were not able to afford rent for April and May. And the survey showed that women are struggling to pay for rent more than men.
“In a city like New York where renters make up the majority of residents, the fate of renters has an enormous impact on real estate sales and investment,” said Ruth Shin, founder and CEO of PropertyNest. “Almost half of renters in New York City are facing economic uncertainty.”
Mortgages, student loans, even car payments and evictions have been put on hold in light of COVID-19, which means renters get more time to figure out a plan.
CEO and Co-Founder of Visual Lease, Marc Betesh, told HousingWire that while some temporary solutions have been introduced, they aren’t necessarily a fix.
“The conversations that need to take place are, if there’s difficulty in paying rent, you don’t bury your head in the sand, but rather make a phone call,” Betesh said. “See what you can work out.”
Over half of those who responded to the survey said that they would pay their rent as usual on May 1 (55.7%). But, there was still 11% that said they wouldn’t have the money for May 1 rent and 10.8% said they would have to wait until they received their stimulus check.
If landlords aren’t recieving rent payments, then mortgages won’t get paid, and both the renter and the landlord will be in hot water.
“If the tenants don’t pay the rent, then the landlords can’t pay their mortgages,” Betesh said. “Then the mortgages, just like on the lease, have very severe penalties if you don’t make the mortgage payments. You can be foreclosed on.”
