You need to read this.
One remaining remnant of the COVID-19 lockdown policy that many seem to be forgetting is the eviction moratorium that was enacted last year. It stipulates that landlords are not allowed to evict tenants who haven't paid rent for extended periods due to the national emergency the pandemic thrust us into. The question on a lot of people's minds at the moment, particularly landlords, is "When is this moratorium going to end?"
BREAKING: The Biden administration extends for one month a nationwide eviction ban that was put in place to help people who couldn’t make rent payments during the pandemic. The new expiration date is July 31. https://t.co/GhbaaVKKML
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 24, 2021
Well it looks like it won't be ending in July as the Biden administration decided to extend the moratorium yet again. There's nothing more American than kicking the can down the road. Especially when it comes to issues that could have a systemic effect on the health of the economy and housing market. But alas, do not fret, this is the "final" extension of the moratorium. Come August, it should be lifted and a semblance of a free market shall return to the housing sector in the US.
"Uncle Marty you sicko, do you want to see people get evicted?" Of course I don't want to see people get evicted. I do wonder what the medium term effects of this policy are going to look like though. If there are many many months during which people have not been paying rent because they know they can't be evicted, it seems like it could cause some severe disruption in the mortgage markets once COVID relief money stops flowing. This will be something to watch once August rolls around. How many people will be evicted at once and how quickly or slowly will their units be filled?
It isn't hard to imagine another mortgage crisis brewing as landlords potentially struggle to fill the inventory with rent paying tenants once they've evicted the previous tenants who weren't paying rent and spruce up the apartments. How bad will the ending of the moratorium exacerbate homelessness in some areas? It feels like there aren't enough people asking these questions at the moment. Are we in for a rude awakening this Fall? Time will tell. This is definitely something to keep an eye on in the coming months.
Who knows, maybe it will keep getting extended into perpetuity and landlords will be appeased with more money printing. We all know there's unlimited amounts of cash at the Federal Reserve.
Final thought...
Feels good to walk around.
Enjoy your weekend, freaks.
