Overdue Rent Could Equal $34 Billion by January 2021

Americans are falling behind economically, according to a pair of studies released at the end of September, and the bills are piling up.

“Renter households across the U.S. are on track to owe as much as $34 billion in past-due rent by January and up to 8.4 million of those households could be hit with an eviction filing by that time,” reports Bill Lucia.

The information comes from a new report published by the National Council of State Housing Agencies last week. The report was prepared by the advisory firm Stout, Risius Ross LLC.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, “the analysis concluded that, based on survey data from mid-September, between 9.7 million and 14.2 million renter households, or 23 million to 34 million individual renters, were falling behind on rent,” explains Lucia.

“The report estimates that the rent shortfall in September for these renters was in the $12 billion to $16 billion range, and that it rises to $25 billion to $34 billion by January.”

Another study, published by the Pew Research Center at the end of September, found that one-in-four Americans are having trouble paying the bills during the pandemic, with lower-income Americans are more likely to have trouble paying bills during the pandemic. The report also finds higher likelihoods of job losses among young Americans and low-income Americans.