- The REIT sector is on watch after the Trump administration implemented a national moratorium on residential evictions through the end of the year based on the 1944 Public Health Service Act.
- The new ban covers tenants who certify that they have lost "substantial" income; that they expect to make no more than $99,000 in 2020 or received a stimulus check; and that they are making their "best efforts" to pay as much of their rent as they can. Tenants must also certify that an eviction would likely make them homeless or push them to double up with others in close quarters.
- Evictions for reasons other than nonpayment of rent will be allowed to proceed, but it's not clear how the move affects landlords, who must continue to make their own payments.
- When the moratorium expires at the end of 2020, renters who received protection will still need to make up missed payments to their landlords.
- Putting it in perspective: According to the Aspen Institute, between 30M and 40M Americans could have been at risk of eviction in the next several months, while in 56 of 100 cities nationwide, including San Francisco and New York, rent has either decreased or remained steady since March.
- Related: Equity Residential, (NYSE:EQR), AvalonBay (NYSE:AVB), UDR (NYSE:UDR), Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV), Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS), Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT), Mid-America Apartments (NYSE:MAA), Invitation Homes (NYSE:INVH).