Nearly a third of renters haven’t paid April rent
Posted by Ivan Vaquero / April 13, 2020
Of 13.4 million renters in the United States, 31% did not pay their rent between April 1 and April 5. Last year at this time, only 18% of renters had not paid rent. These numbers are alarming, but there are a total of over 40 million rental units in the United States, and the 13.4 million in this study do not include low-income housing. Nevertheless, the spike in unpaid rents points to the harm the COVID pandemic is doing to the average American’s livelihood.
A shocking 16 million Americans have lost their jobs the past few weeks. That puts the unemployment rate at around 13%, according to the New York Times. For comparison, the Great Depression was around 25%.
In the continuing economic fallout of the COVID epidemic, the S&P 500 is set for its worst first quarter since 1938. The U.S. government is passing economic stimulus packages, but all is not tell––the Post Office may have to close if it doesn’t get funding by June, and American Airlines has asked for $12 billion.
Cheesecake Factory CEO and chairman David Overton has told landlords for all its locations that it won’t be paying rent for awhile. It is not recommended that you try this at home. COVID has caused the restaurant to totally close 27 restaurants temporarily while shifting others to carry-out only.
In far less hilarious news, the mayor of Atlanta has warned that her city’s ICU units are full. If cases surge there, we may see scenes like those in Europes, with hospital patients spilling into the hallways.
Waffle House, a home-away-from-home for countless southerners, is closing 365 locations until the virus passes. Its workers will remain employed.
Despite these measures, the virus is still spreading, and it might get worse––a cruise ship with more than 40 people with flu-like symptoms are heading towards Florida. It will dock next week.
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