Over 95% of Colorado Renters have Continued to Pay Rent on Time
DENVER (June 30, 2020) – RealPage, a data analytics firm for the real estate industry, reported that Colorado’s rent collection percentage for June was 95.4% as of June 23. RealPage’s analytics show Colorado rent collections ranking No. 9 out of the 47 states that reported adequate data. June’s rent collection percentage is on target with the May percentage, which was 95.2% in rent collections.
The Colorado Apartment Association is tracking rent collections too and reports the same 95.4% for June.
“We continue to see strong rent payments in the fourth month after the coronavirus shutdowns began. This is a sign that Colorado renters and housing providers both are committed in identifying payment solutions for those residents being impacted by the crisis,” said Mark Williams, executive vice president of the Colorado Apartment Association (CAA).
“There are some who are more pessimistic and predicting mass evictions in the coming months, but considering Colorado’s strong economy for many years, combined with strong rent collection payments thus far, we’re more optimistic about the situation,” Williams said.
June’s rent collection percentage of 95.4% is just slightly lower than the June 2019 rent collection percentage in Colorado of 96.1%.
“Our members understand that paying rent among other utilities may have been challenging for some people over the last few months,” said Williams. “Now that Colorado is opening back up in a safe and responsible way, we continue to analyze the data, and the numbers show that rent payments likely will continue to stabilize in the coming months. Analyzing true data is the only way to understand what may come in future months. Creating fear with lack of knowledge about the industry and lack of experience with Colorado’s economy is not the key to predicting Colorado’s future in rental percentages, as some have recently done.”
CAA and its members are working each day to support Colorado residents who may be struggling with rent payments. If a resident cannot afford a full or partial rent payment, CAA members are working with residents on payment plans and other solutions to keep residents in their homes.
“We encourage residents to have conversations with their rental housing providers if they are unable to pay rent,” said Williams.
Additionally, CAA is providing resources for residents struggling with rental payments through the partnership with Resident Relief Foundation (RRF). This partnership created a financial relief fund to directly help Colorado residents struggling to pay rent because of coronavirus-related job or income loss or illness. RRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides rental assistance grants to responsible residents during temporary financial emergencies. The organization recently launched a national multifamily industry fundraising initiative to raise $10 million for rent payment assistance caused by the coronavirus pandemic. CAA joined the effort to bring this funding to Colorado and encourages anyone with the financial means to contribute to RRF’s Colorado fund to directly support fellow Colorado residents with upcoming rent obligations. So far, the fund has raised more than $100,000 for Colorado residents.
“We’ve seen applications starting to come in from the state of Colorado and we are now working with these residents to begin paying out some grants, and more grants will be paid out once the eviction moratorium is lifted,” said Tina Oswald, executive director of RRF. “It’s organizations such as CAA that are working to make a difference in their communities to support residents who need one-time rent payment assistance.”
Residents who meet the program criteria can apply for partial-to-full rent payment grants if they have experienced virus-related income or job loss. The relief funds will be given on a first-come, first-served basis, and qualified residents are encouraged to reach out as soon as they receive a demand for payment from the housing provider.
CAA also has assembled a list of more than 100 COVID-19 resources for residents, which can be found here https://colorado.com/news/covid-19-resources under the Renter Resources tab.
About the Colorado Apartment Association
The Colorado Apartment Association is a non-profit trade association representing owners, developers, management companies, and Supplier Partners of the multifamily rental housing industry. CAA is comprised of four local affiliates from across the state. The association represents over 3,000 members who own and manage over 300,000 apartment homes, which totals more than $88 billion in assets. Together with the local affiliates, the National Multifamily Housing Council, and the National Apartment Association, CAA offers a strong network of information, education and representation of the multifamily housing industry.