It goes without saying that the pandemic has affected all of us. I’ve been greatly amused by the number of programs the government has rolled out where you have to “prove you were affected by Covid0-19.” Who in the actual hell hasn’t felt SOME effect from Covid??
One of the “protections” that the government rolled out over a year ago was a federal moratorium on evicting tenants for failure to pay rent.
Keep in mind that did not mean tenants weren’t responsible for their rent, it just meant they couldn’t be evicted for failing to pay the rent.
Now, how do you think some tenants took that?
They quit paying. Or some did, not all – but some. But there those out there – and there are examples aplenty – of those who not only thought that meant they didn’t have to pay anymore, but also thought it meant they weren’t responsible for it anymore. That would be …
Of course Democrats are quick to point out who the bad guy is here – the damn slum lords! That’s right, those greedy money grubbing dudes that need tenants to pay rent to pay for property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities. Jerks!
Rick Newman wrote about it today quite well: “Yet landlords are the presumed enemy as Democrats fret over what to do about the end of the federal eviction moratorium. As of August 1, there’s no longer a federal barrier to landlords evicting tenants who can’t pay their rent. Some states and cities still ban evictions, but that only covers about one-third of the country, leaving a truly unknown amount of tenants now vulnerable to eviction.”
Landlords are no more responsible for the pandemic than you or I. If landlords are supposed to provide free housing during recessions however, then somebody needs to rewrite most of the leases in America.
Congress has passed $47 billion in aid for qualifying renters, which is supposed to be indirect aid for landlords, since they’re the ones who ultimately get the money. But the program is still under construction. The Treasury Department says states and cities have distributed just $3 billion of that money, or less than 7% of what’s available. Treasury isn’t sure why so much money is sitting unused, but it’s not all that surprising for a new, temporary program a lot of people don’t even know about, with varying application procedures across the country. It amazes me that the IRS can get checks out if you breed, but put down you’re a landlord on your tax return and they can’t figure out how to help?
Tenants who took bonus unemployment, stimulus checks, and fat EIC tax returns and decided not to pay their rent made their bed. Time to sleep in it, even if it’s on the sidewalk now. Anyone who sees all this and still thinks that big government can solve anything…. well …
The moratorium has gone on long enough. Tenants knew this was coming, and shame on those who counted on AOC and the progressives to keep giving them a free pass. Time to pay the piper, and I just can’t feel sorry for ya. #sorrynotsorry
Author’s note: portions of this article were taken from a great piece that Rick Newman did at Yahoo Finance today, which can be seen here:
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/democrats-should-ease-up-on-landlords-113226425.html
Love it.