What does the Eviction Moratorium mean for Landlords?

As a soon-to-be landlord myself, I've been very curious how the current eviction moratorium could impact my rental. I never delved too deeply into headlines since I figured I'll deal with it when I need to find a tenant. Well, I'm in the early stages of getting my home rent-ready and we are furiously researching what the current laws are and how they may impact us.

Since we're located in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, I first checked out what my local housing authority had to say on the matter. The Tulsa Housing Authority has a webpage dedicated to resources for both tenants and landlords. Tenants will find that they have several layers of protection from non-payment of rent, including:

• prohibition of "any action by a landlord, owner, or other person to remove or cause the removal of a covered tenant from the residential property for non-payment of rent"

• permission to pay "partial payments if they are able"

• assurance than any reason income was lost would qualify for non-payment of rent

So what about landlord protections? Well, sadly there aren't many. Of course, keeping people safe during the pandemic is of utmost importance. But people's assets must also be protected. A happy tenant = a happy landlord and vice versa. But if the tenant is advantaged to the detriment of the landlord, that's not a good situation. On top of that, I could very easily see a landlord getting behind on mortgage payments, which would then lead to the tenant no longer having a home. Here are some of the rules that apply to landlords:

• eviction may only occur if the tenant is engaging in criminal and/or dangerous behavior OR if they violate other terms of the lease not pertaining to payment

• all residential properties apply to the eviction moratorium

• if a landlord is struggling with their own payments, they can request mediation with the tenant and/or apply to rental assistance programs

So the rental assistance program thing seems to be a pretty good resolution. If neither the tenant nor the landlord can pay, someone will step in and help! According to a USA Today article, nearly 50 billion has poured into relief programs for renters and landlords, but only 6.5% had been disbursed by June 2021. On top of that, the online applications many states use to process claims are clunky and slow down the rollout of money. To put in context how little money has gone out to those in need, Texas has distributed the second-highest amount of money. Sounds good right? No - it's only given out 30% of the federal relief it received.

Another thing my research uncovered was that it's unknown when the eviction moratorium will end. With the Delta variant running rampant and several states bringing back masks, will we have more shutdowns this winter and fall? The future of the eviction moratorium actually went to the Supreme Court earlier this summer. The Justices ruled in its favor since they expected it to end in July. Well here we are in August with another 3 months of the moratorium to content with. What will happen this winter? Will banks - the holders of many landlords' mortgages - be fine to keep receiving little to no payment? The buck will have to stop at some point and the way this system is set up looks like it will, unfortunately, hurt both tenants and landlords.

Nevertheless, I am a hopeful person and believe that if a landlord properly screens tenants and educates themselves on the law, they will be fine. After all, I constantly read about successful rental stories every day. Staying on top of what is happening will allow someone to navigate this moratorium to the best of their abilities.

Uncertainty lies ahead. Let's hope the federal, state, and local governments will clear things up in a way for everyone to win.