Just As Hapco Philadelphia Predicted, City Running Out Of COVID Rent Relief Money
Philadelphia landlords and their tenants who are applying for rental help from the city are getting dreadful news. Phase Four money to help renters get caught up after the eviction moratorium is running out.
The bad news is showing up as landlords and their renters submit applications for the desperately needed help.
Below is what applicants are apparently receiving from Philadelphia’s Rental Assist program.
Hapco Philadelphia Landlords In The News On Eviction Supreme Court Ruling
Hapco Philadelphia member Anthony Krupincza talks about the struggles facing landlords during the eviction moratorium. And Hapco Philadelphia reacts to the Supreme Court striking down the eviction ban on NBC10 News Philadelphia.
City Of Philadelphia Will Run Out Of COVID Relief Money Before All Applications Are Approved!
Hapco Philadelphia's President Writes An Open Editorial To City Council
Greg Wertman looked at the city's own COVID-19 Rental Assistance numbers and discovered the City won't have enough relief money for all of the applications. And Hapco Philadelphia is telling lawmakers the only way to expedite approvals is to end the eviction moratorium and eliminate the tenant signoff from the application process. This will put more money in the hands of long-suffering landlords and will keep our tenants in their homes.
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Ending the Eviction Moratorium Is the Right Thing To Do
An Op/Ed for consideration from the President of Hapco Philadelphia
We all need a safe space to protect ourselves in a pandemic. So it’s quite natural and somewhat predictable that over the past 18 months, most politicians and media outlets have focused their attention squarely on renters. As President of Hapco Philadelphia, the city’s largest assocation of rental property owners, we advocate for fair property rights for all: tenants AND their landlords, who make up our membership. While it may have been well-intentioned early on, the eviction moratorium has not been fair to landlords, and the governmental process for helping to reimburse them simply isn’t working.
Most of our nearly two thousand members are small “mom and pop” landlords in the city who own fewer than five properties. Many own just one or two. Simply put, when their tenant doesn’t pay rent, or in some cases doesn’t even try, landlords can’t pay the mortgages, utilities, taxes and fees on that property. Imagine how long a grocer would stay in business if paying for food was optional.
These are real Philadelphians being impacted, like 77-year-old Waddell Womack, a retiree on a fixed income. His “nest egg” is four small rental units in North Philadelphia, and he survives on the money those units bring in. But two of his tenants haven’t paid their $750 rents in eighteen months, so he’s out $27,000 and counting! One tenant packed up and disappeared last month. The other abandoned the property, and, almost unbelievably, returned days later when the CDC’s eviction moratorium was reinstated!
Yes, there is Emergency Rental Assistance funding available, which is federal money being distributed by the city. But it has BIG flaws. For one, either the tenant must apply directly or agree to let the landlord apply on the tenant’s behalf. But some tenants, including one of Waddell’s, are simply refusing. And without the tenant’s signoff, the landlord is out of luck.
Then there’s the speed of the program. Waddell applied for money back in April, and still hasn’t heard a word. Even more alarming, the money will soon run out.
In its latest phase, more than 45,000 applications have flooded into Philadelphia’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance program. The Inquirer reported on August 9th that the city has far more applications for assistance than it can help. There is only money left to assist another 9,800 landlords, but more than 20,000 applications are still pending, including Waddell’s. Will he ever see a dime of the $27,000 he’s owed? He’s not feeling optomistic. And neither are we. As of July 30, only 39-percent of applications have been reviewed. And of those reviewed, just 57-percent were approved.
Our rental property owners aren’t looking for a handout. But something has to be done to expedite the application and approval process for this emergency rent relief.
For starters, the tenant signoff requirement needs to be waived to put more of this help in the hands of landlords faster.
As I told Inquirer reporter Michaelle Bond, landlords were asked to take one for the team, bite the bullet and keep our renters in their units. For that act of faith, we were promised compensation, but for too many Philadelphia landlords, it’s simply not happening.
Greg Wertman
President, Hapco Philadelphia
HAPCO Philadelphia Philadelphia In The News: Eviction Moratorium Is Destroying Affordable Housing
HAPCO Philadelphia Philadelphia's President and an HP member are quoted in a Philadelphia Inquirer story about the race against time to get rent relief money to landlords and tenants before the eviction moratorium expires
HAPCO Philadelphia Philadelphia has been warning City Council for years that affordable rental housing is in danger of disappearing in Philadelphia. And HP President Greg Wertman says the pandemic and eviction moratorium are forcing more landlords to sell their properties in the city.
Get Help Accessing "Phase Four" Rental Assistance!
It's a race against time to get rent help as the eviction moratorium is expiring soon!
HAPCO Philadelphia has the "live" expert training and advice you need to get quick access to the latest round of COVID-19 rent relief monies.
This "Members Only" online event is June 23rd 10-11am. It's a joint briefing with experts from HAPCO Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Apartment Association. It's aimed at helping landlords, their attorneys, and representatives navigate Philadelphia's "Phase Four" Emergency Rental Assistance Program to get the rent relief they need for struggling tenants who are behind on their rent.
