[Survey] Rent Payment, Eviction, & Rental Trends - August & September 2021

In September, we sent a survey to over 60,000 active TurboTenant landlords and renters. We have been surveying our landlord and renter base for over a year to gain insights into current rental trends regarding their rental process during the pandemic, rent payments, evictions, financial struggles, and other relevant rental industry data. We will continue to publish insights and data through 2021. Conducted between Sept. 24-30, this survey examined rental trends in August and September. Our key takeaways and insights from both landlords and tenants are highlighted below. For comparison, you can read the summary for our June and July report.

Table of Contents:

• Rent Payment Trends – Landlords
• Rent Payment Trends – Renters
• Eviction Trends
• Financial Challenges and Rent Relief – Landlords
• Financial Challenges and Rent Relief – Renters
• Other Rental Industry Trends

TL;DR

• Only 69% of landlords received full rent payments in August and only 68% in September – down from 70% in July. Seven percent of landlords did not receive any rent payments in August but then dropped to 6% in September.
• Colorado landlords received the highest amount of full rent payments at around 80% for both months; Florida accounted for the most missed payments.
• More renters paid the full rent amount in September at 86% compared to only 68% in August.
• Only 7% of landlords have filed an eviction due to nonpayment of rent since the CDC’s federal eviction moratorium was struck down by the Supreme Court last month.
• Four percent of renters said they moved out of a rental property in the last two months because they were anticipating an eviction.
• For renters who were aware of emergency rental assistance, only 3% had applied and received funds.

Rent Payment Trends – Landlords

Key Takeaways: 

• Only 69% of landlords received full rent payments in August and only 68% in September – down from 70% in July. Seven percent of landlords did not receive any rent payments in August but then dropped to 6% in September.
• Landlords with rentals in suburban communities received the most full rent payments at 75% for both months, which has been the case in previous reporting periods. However, 7-10% of landlords with rentals in urban, suburban, and rural areas reported they received no rent payments.

• Independent landlords with 1-4 units received the most full rent payments in August and September as well as the most missed payments. Landlords with 21+ units had the most partial payments in August at 78% and September at 74%.
• Colorado landlords received the highest amount of full rent payments at around 81% for both months; Florida accounted for the most missed payments at 11% in August and 10% in September.

Rent Payment Trends – Renters

Key Takeaways: 

• More renters paid the full rent amount in September at 86% compared to only 68% in August.
• Renters with an annual household income of less than $50,000 had the most missed rent payments in August at 23% and then also in September at 13%.
• In September, across all annual income brackets there was a significant increase in rent payments paid.

• Ninety-one percent of renters are confident they will be able to pay October’s rent – the highest percentage in 2021.
• Most Renters, at 47%, have been paying their rent online through ACH/digital wallet/rent payments platform. The second most preferred method was by check at 21%.
• For renters who did not pay the full rent amount, 64% set up a payment plan, 20% said their landlord started eviction proceedings, and around 20% negotiated rent with their landlords.

Eviction Trends – Landlords and Renters

Key Takeaways: 

• Only 7% of landlords have filed an eviction due to nonpayment of rent since the CDC’s federal eviction moratorium was struck down by the Supreme Court last month.
• Four percent of renters said they moved out of a rental property in the last two months because they were anticipating an eviction.
• Out of the renters who did anticipate being evicted, 81% preferred not to answer and 19% said it was due to nonpayment of rent.
• When it came to offering a cash for keys agreement to tenants, which is offering a sum of money for the tenant to vacate the rental property, 4% of landlords had offered one, while 2% offered a cash for keys agreement but their tenant did not accept.

Financial Challenges and Rent Relief – Landlords

Key Takeaways: 

• When it came to rent relief, 82% of landlords did not apply, 4% were not eligible for assistance, 7% applied and have not received funds, and 6% applied and received funds.
• Twenty-five percent of landlords reported they are owed back rent.
• Landlords reported up to $45,000 in back rent owed for their properties.
• Only 2% of landlords went into forbearance with their mortgage while another 2% were in forbearance but no longer are, and a grand 83% did not have to go into forbearance.
• Only 3% of landlords sold their rental property to avoid foreclosure.

Financial Challenges and Rent Relief – Renters

Key Takeaways: 

• Over 53% of renters were not aware of rental assistance for renters and landlords available through the stimulus relief bills.
• For renters who were aware of emergency rental assistance, only 3% had applied and received funds.
• A grand 90% of renters reported that their landlords had not provided them with information regarding rental assistance or how to apply to rent relief.
• Seventeen percent of renters have had to take on additional debt to cover rent.
• When it came to how much of their income was needed for rent, 48% of renters said 30-50% of their income was needed, 37% said less than 30% was needed, and only 15% said more than 50% of their income was needed for rent.

Other Rental Industry Trends

• Roughly 89% of landlords reported they consider a potential tenant’s income and employment status when determining who to rent to. Between 68-77% of landlords stated that they consider credit scores, previous evictions, and in-person interactions as additional aspects to consider.
• Within this year, 6% of landlords had a rental that was affected by a natural disaster.
• Out of those landlords, several reported up to $350,000 in damage costs.
• Up to 68% of renters reported they had moved recently. Of those renters, it took 38% of them 4+ weeks to find a new rental and only 7% of them were able to locate a new rental within a week.
• Twenty-nine percent of renters were rejected by a rental they applied to recently, while 57% were accepted.

We will continue to survey renters and landlords, and update this data every month. If you have data requirements that are outside the scope of this article, please email [email protected]. We have ongoing data collection and are happy to supply another data set if it is available.

If you are in the process of filling your properties, TurboTenant can help streamline your rental process with easy and free online rental applications, thorough tenant screening, and customizable, state-specific lease agreements so you can find the best renter for your property and protect your investment.