April rent is due, what do you do if your job shut down and you can’t pay?
Many renters in the Triangle are having to face new challenges as stay-at-home orders declare their job nonessential and their income flow is suddenly stopped.
Gov. Roy Cooper alleviated some of the stress of bills Tuesday with an executive order barring utility companies from disconnecting people who are unable to pay for 60 days. The order covers electric, gas, water and wastewater service.
The order gives customers six months to pay bills, stops companies from adding late fees and interest to bills that aren’t paid, and encourages phone, cable and internet companies to follow suit.
But even then, for most people rent payments are still due April 1.
Many businesses that can’t work remotely were shut down in Wake and Durham counties, leaving thousands jobless. In Raleigh alone, there are around 60,000 food preparation and serving workers and 22,000 retail workers who make median hourly wages of $9.70 and $11.41, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Now many of them may have no source of income or are waiting on unemployment benefits.
Meanwhile, the average rent in Raleigh and Durham has steadily increased over the past decade. A one-bedroom apartment now costs 1,020 in Raleigh and $950 in Durham, ranking 53rd and 58th most expensive rents in America in a recent Zumper report.
While eviction hearings are halted at least until April 12, by an order from N.C. Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, that doesn’t mean evictions won’t eventually happen for folks who can’t pay their rent now or in future months.
“All of us are figuring out how many people won’t be able to pay their rent and we’re just scrambling to try to help,” said Kim Westermann, communications manager at CASA, a nonprofit that provides housing to homeless people or those at risk.
Westermann said around a third of CASA’s tenants are in the workforce, and pay 30% of their income for rent. Most of their workforce tenants make 30% to 50% of the area median income working at restaurants, nail salons and public schools.
She said many are already calling to say they’ve lost their income.
Private renters
For CASA tenants, the situation isn’t dire right now. Westermann said the organization is committed to its tenants and has a one-time emergency assistance fund and donations available. Nobody will be evicted and there won’t be any late fees, she said. They’re just asking that tenants call and talk about their situation if they lose their source of income.
But CASA is only one nonprofit and it’s not accepting any new applications; it already has a lengthy waitlist.
What should people do if they can’t pay rent?
Dustin Engelken, from the Triangle Apartment Association, gave a couple steps for renters:
▪ First, reach out to your landlord or property manager and tell them about your situation.
▪ Second, if you reach an agreement with your landlord or property manager, get the agreement in writing.
▪ Third, reach out to nonprofit, religious charity and government rental assistance programs.
Engelken said there isn’t a one-size-fits-all fix for rental agreements, but “everyone is certainly aware of the situation we’re in.”
He said the Triangle Apartment Association is working on creating a resource page for these programs.
The association recently asked the state to include rental assistance in the moratorium on evictions so renters can still make payments. Engelken said it was in talks with local governments about streamlining rental assistance programs, The News & Observer previously reported.
Westermann said she’s recently been sending interested folks to apply for unemployment and to Triangle Family Services, which offers HUD-approved emergency housing assistance.
Peter Gilbert from Legal Aid of NC said people who have lost income can apply for the organization’s eviction diversion program, in which a lawyer will help negotiate a rent payment plan with the landlord or property manager.
To apply, call 866-219-5262 or visit www.legalaidnc.org.
Gilbert said Durham residents can apply for emergency rental assistance from the Durham County Department of Social Services — DSS’ phone number is 919-560-8000.
What are rental properties doing?
Kellie Falk, managing director at Drucker + Falk, which manages multifamily apartment properties in the Triangle, said the company has recently been directing properties to make policy decisions to help tenants, based on recommendations from the National Multifamily Housing Council.
These include a 90-day halt to evictions and rent increases for those who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the creation of payment plans for residents who are unable to pay their rent because of the outbreak.
Examples of this include a tenant paying April rent over a six-month period when they get their job back and allowing people who were supposed to vacate to keep paying a monthly rate until the crisis has subsided.
“The last thing we want to do is put people on the streets, because we’re all in this together,” Falk said.
Some properties, however, are sticking to their lease agreements no matter what, The Charlotte Observer reported earlier this month.
In a letter to tenants from Bowman Property Management, the company said delinquent tenants would be subject to standard late policies, “which include a 5% late fee being added to your account, and eviction proceedings taking place.”
“We empathize with any of our tenants who have experienced hardship during this season in the form of medical or financial,” the letter begins. “With this being said ... we want to remind you that the terms of the lease are in effect in good times and bad, and our expectation is that rent will be paid on time, with no questions asked.”
Gilbert from Legal Aid told the N&O that even if eviction filings aren’t being done right now, and hearings are postponed, there will be a wave of them when cases are finally heard.
“I do expect we will have a large number of eviction cases in the next few months,” he said.
The nonprofit law firm recently brought on additional staff and he said they are “as prepared as we can be to meet a potential crisis.” But Gilbert said Legal Aid can still only serve around 10% of the Durham evicted population.
Public housing
Laura McCann, special assistant to the Raleigh Housing Authority, said residents are still responsible for paying according to their lease. However, public housing is based on household income, so residents should notify the authority of any income changes so their rent payments can be adjusted.
McCann said RHA has increased the number of ways residents can submit a change, as offices are closed for social distancing measures.
She also said residents experiencing hardships should contact their property manager to discuss payment agreements.
The Durham Housing Authority told the N&O on Tuesday it’s having residents report any loss of income as soon as it occurs over the phone or through email to limit in-person interaction.
“If a resident loses income because of COVID, their rent will also decrease and their housing will remain stable,” wrote Carl Newman, DHA general counsel.
Newman said the authority doesn’t plan to file evictions in April for nonpayment and won’t charge late fees.
“The combined effect of what’s happened at McDougald [Terrace] and our ending evictions during the coronavirus is that it’s absolutely certain at this point that there will be an enormous annual drop in both complaints and evictions this year at DHA,” he wrote.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 5:23 PM.
