Nearly a third of U.S. apartment renters didn’t pay any of their April rent during the first week of the month, highlighting the financial pressure the coronavirus pandemic has placed on millions of Americans, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Only 69% of tenants paid any of their rent between April 1 and 5 according to findings made by the NMHC, a landlord trade group, the Wall Street Journal reported. This figure is 12% lower than the percentage of tenants who paid their rent the month prior, and 13% lower than the percentage who paid their rents in April 2019.
Educator Scott Slivken helps his students solve math problems as he holds virtual office hours with his sixth grade students. (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The count includes renters who only made partial payments, and many renters who’ve yet to pay in the first week of April may pay later in the month, NMHC said according to the Wall Street Journal.
The data was collected from 13.4 million rental apartments analyzed by several real-estate data firms, and the properties included have a tenant base that may skew higher income than the median renter. The data don’t include single-family homes, and excludes public housing.
President Donald Trump’s administration temporarily suspended all foreclosures and evictions beginning March 18 and lasting through April. (RELATED: Trump Admin Requests Authority To Ban Evictions During Coronavirus)