Renter confidence is on the rise, according to a new survey by Avail, part of Realtor.com. As we enter the third year of the pandemic, 82% of the renters said they have not missed a payment in over 12 months, which is up significantly from 57% in September 2021. Furthermore, 77% of renters said they don’t expect to miss a rent payment in the next three months — more than double the 38% who said this in the September survey.
Avail surveyed 2,163 renters and 1,156 landlords in January 2022 to gather their thoughts on the state of the rental market.
“As the pandemic dragged on longer than expected, many renters struggled to make payments, as jobs in a number of industries including travel and hospitality were hard to come by. Even those with jobs grappled with pandemic-related work disruptions that left many feeling unsure about their finances,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “However, we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. The job market has made a dramatic comeback and despite rising prices across the board, renters are feeling more financially stable and overwhelmingly confident in their ability to pay their rent.”
Landlords are feeling confident as a majority of them plan on increasing rent this year. In the survey, 61% of landlords plan to raise the rent on at least one of the rental properties in the next 12 months. The most common increase was between 5% and 10%, which aligns with Realtor.com’s forecasted national rent increase of 7.1%. The full breakdown of planned landlord rent increases is provide below:
- Less than 5% (38%)
- 5-10% (45%)
- 10-15% (9%)
- 15-20% (5%)
- More than 20% (3%)
Although most renters and landlords feel confident they’ll be able to make payments in the coming months, survey data indicated that most of them don’t know where to turn for help if they can’t pay their rent or mortgage. Only 51% of renters and 71% of landlords said they were aware of programs created to help renters and landlords during COVID-19. Among those who were aware of rental assistance programs, only 21% believed they would be eligible for assistance to cover missed payments.
“When people are unable to pay their rent, that often leads to independent landlords being unable to pay their mortgage, creating instability for both the tenant and the landlord. There are a number of programs available to help, but unfortunately the survey indicates that many people don't know where to look for help,” said Laurence Jankelow, Avail co-founder and vice president of operations at Realtor.com.
Although pandemic assistance programs are ending, there are still resources that renters and landlords can use to protect themselves and make their payments on time. Avail is collaborating with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, the Housing Partnership Network, and Wells Fargo to form the Renter Advantage program, which offers free financial counseling to renters in need.
