This page helps provide the latest need to know information
as a housing provider in Utah
as a housing provider in Utah
"American Rescue Plan"
On January 14th, 2021, President-elect Biden released summary information on his “American Rescue Plan: Emergency Legislative Package to Fund Vaccinations, Provide Immediate, Direct Relief to Families Bearing the Brunt of the COVID-19 Crisis, and Support Struggling Communities.” This is the new Administration’s proposal for COVID relief. The package is wide-ranging, but here are some of the big ticket items:
A couple of notes on process. Since the Democrats won the runoff races in Georgia and took control of the Senate, there has been lots of speculation about them using a procedure called reconciliation to pass this stimulus bill. This process allows passage by simple majority, so Republican votes would not be needed in the Senate assuming all Democrats and Independents who caucus with them stayed together. This is how the 2017 tax law was passed. However, only policies that change spending or revenues can be included in reconciliation legislation, so it could be difficult to include the eviction and foreclosure moratoria. We are investigating this further. I have seen reports tonight indicating that President-elect Biden wants to pass this stimulus package on a bipartisan basis, not using reconciliation. That means he needs 60 votes but then the budget impact requirement is not necessary and he could include the eviction moratorium. To do that means negotiating with the Republicans which of course changes the dynamic on all of this.
In his speech tonight explaining the proposal, the President-elect stated that next week he will be extending the CDC eviction order put in place by the Trump Administration. This was expected and we have been weighing in with the transition team on that. If the Democrats choose to use reconciliation for the larger legislative package, they could pull out the eviction moratorium and the President-elect could keep extending it by executive order. Recall that we have litigation pending already on the standing CDC order.
As you can see, there are many permutations of how this process could play out.
We are conducting a deeper analysis of the proposal and process now and developing our advocacy strategy. As always, that will include a significant role for all of you. More on that later.
Thank you and Stay Safe.
- Individual Assistance
- Provide for an addition $1,400 in individual checks to complement the $600 provided through the COVID legislation passed at the end of 2020.
- Extend and expand unemployment insurance benefits with a $400 per week supplement.
- Extend financial assistance for workers who have exhausted their regular unemployment compensation benefits.
- Extend financial assistance for unemployed workers who do not typically qualify for unemployment compensation benefits.
- Fully fund states’ short-time compensation programs and additional weeks of benefits.
- Housing
- Extend the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums and continue applications for forbearance on federally-guaranteed mortgages until September 30, 2021.
- Fund legal assistance for renters facing eviction or foreclosure.
- Fund an additional $25 billion in rental assistance to provide much-needed rental relief, especially for low- and moderate-income households who have lost jobs or are out of the labor market.
- Deliver $5 billion in emergency assistance to help secure housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
- Labor/Family Support
- Raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
- Expand child care assistance to help millions of families and help parents return to work.
- Increase tax credits to help cover the cost of childcare.
A couple of notes on process. Since the Democrats won the runoff races in Georgia and took control of the Senate, there has been lots of speculation about them using a procedure called reconciliation to pass this stimulus bill. This process allows passage by simple majority, so Republican votes would not be needed in the Senate assuming all Democrats and Independents who caucus with them stayed together. This is how the 2017 tax law was passed. However, only policies that change spending or revenues can be included in reconciliation legislation, so it could be difficult to include the eviction and foreclosure moratoria. We are investigating this further. I have seen reports tonight indicating that President-elect Biden wants to pass this stimulus package on a bipartisan basis, not using reconciliation. That means he needs 60 votes but then the budget impact requirement is not necessary and he could include the eviction moratorium. To do that means negotiating with the Republicans which of course changes the dynamic on all of this.
In his speech tonight explaining the proposal, the President-elect stated that next week he will be extending the CDC eviction order put in place by the Trump Administration. This was expected and we have been weighing in with the transition team on that. If the Democrats choose to use reconciliation for the larger legislative package, they could pull out the eviction moratorium and the President-elect could keep extending it by executive order. Recall that we have litigation pending already on the standing CDC order.
As you can see, there are many permutations of how this process could play out.
We are conducting a deeper analysis of the proposal and process now and developing our advocacy strategy. As always, that will include a significant role for all of you. More on that later.
Thank you and Stay Safe.
$200 Million More Rental Assistance Coming to Utah
Last night, President Trump signed the Covid-19 Stimulus Package passed by the House last week. We are excited to announce that this includes a direct payment to the State of Utah for at least $200 million for rental assistance.
As you may know, Utah has received just under $30 million in rental assistance from the March Cares Act. We are on track to spend $23.5 million of that by year end, and because of language in the new Covid-19 bill, any remaining money will now be able to be rolled over.
So, you may ask, if we only spent $23.5 million in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, how will we spend $200 million in 2021, with Utah’s economy and employment doing so well and being the best in the country? The answer is that we don’t know, but here is what we do know:
1 – Both the Utah LHAP (Landlord Housing Assistance Program) and the RHAP (Renter Housing Assistance Program) programs, that allow landlords and renters to apply for rental assistance, will continue through 2021. However, the income threshold for renters to qualify will fall to 80% of AMI, meaning households who self-attest their income has been affected by Covid-19 and make 80% or less of the Annual Median Income (for a chart on AMI see link here). The fund will pay current or unpaid rent and utilities (9 months of potential arrears and 3 months moving forward) and other directly or indirectly incurred, housing expenses because of the pandemic.
2 – The CDC eviction moratorium has been extended through January 31st, 2021. This is not a ban on evictions, only a defense for renters who are affected by Covid-19 income loss and are working with their landlord to pay what they can and access available rental assistance (meaning they are working with you to receive rental assistance). You can still serve 3-day notices, charge late fees, and begin evictions for non-payment, and we recommend you do this to spur tenants who are frozen from the “pandemic panic” into taking responsibility in obtaining rental assistance. We recommend you use the LHAP program to obtain rental assistance, as you are in control and can facilitate the process. The CDC moratorium only applies to evictions for non-payment, so end of term, comply or vacate and nuisance evictions can still proceed.
UAA will be working with the state to provide more information as it becomes available, but in the meantime, may we recommend a couple of takeaways:
As always, we are here to help you. If you have any questions, or if you need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out to us by phone at 801-487-5619 or by email - info@uaahq.org.
Thank you and Let's all continue to Stay Safe!
Last night, President Trump signed the Covid-19 Stimulus Package passed by the House last week. We are excited to announce that this includes a direct payment to the State of Utah for at least $200 million for rental assistance.
As you may know, Utah has received just under $30 million in rental assistance from the March Cares Act. We are on track to spend $23.5 million of that by year end, and because of language in the new Covid-19 bill, any remaining money will now be able to be rolled over.
So, you may ask, if we only spent $23.5 million in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, how will we spend $200 million in 2021, with Utah’s economy and employment doing so well and being the best in the country? The answer is that we don’t know, but here is what we do know:
1 – Both the Utah LHAP (Landlord Housing Assistance Program) and the RHAP (Renter Housing Assistance Program) programs, that allow landlords and renters to apply for rental assistance, will continue through 2021. However, the income threshold for renters to qualify will fall to 80% of AMI, meaning households who self-attest their income has been affected by Covid-19 and make 80% or less of the Annual Median Income (for a chart on AMI see link here). The fund will pay current or unpaid rent and utilities (9 months of potential arrears and 3 months moving forward) and other directly or indirectly incurred, housing expenses because of the pandemic.
2 – The CDC eviction moratorium has been extended through January 31st, 2021. This is not a ban on evictions, only a defense for renters who are affected by Covid-19 income loss and are working with their landlord to pay what they can and access available rental assistance (meaning they are working with you to receive rental assistance). You can still serve 3-day notices, charge late fees, and begin evictions for non-payment, and we recommend you do this to spur tenants who are frozen from the “pandemic panic” into taking responsibility in obtaining rental assistance. We recommend you use the LHAP program to obtain rental assistance, as you are in control and can facilitate the process. The CDC moratorium only applies to evictions for non-payment, so end of term, comply or vacate and nuisance evictions can still proceed.
UAA will be working with the state to provide more information as it becomes available, but in the meantime, may we recommend a couple of takeaways:
- If you have any renters who are behind on rent in 2020, be sure to submit a claim through the LHAP program before year end so you can benefit from the higher AMI standards
- On January 1st, 2021, submit a payment request for any unpaid utilities through the LHAP program
- If you have tenants who are non-responsive, or who are “ghosting” you (refusing to communicate), immediately file 3 day notices and, if necessary, start the eviction process. The goal is not to evict them, the goal is to wake them up and get them communicating and addressing the issues. There is no excuse for non-payment with so much rental assistance available. You should not “float” any renters and you should not let non-responsive renters take advantage of you. Clearly communicate that they need to take responsibility and that while you will help them, they need to step up and be responsible for solving their rent payment issue.
As always, we are here to help you. If you have any questions, or if you need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out to us by phone at 801-487-5619 or by email - info@uaahq.org.
Thank you and Let's all continue to Stay Safe!
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Rental Assistance for Landlords
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Rental Assistance and Help for Tenants
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Frequently asked questions
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Info on rent moratoriums, stimulus packages, and other actions
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Additional webinars, links, and most up-to-date COVID-19 info
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Latest News...
Issue: "Eviction Moratorium" Updated: 4/2/2020 11:30AM More Info: Government Regulation
On April 1st 2020 the State of Utah issued executive orders for a state wide rent moratorium. This moratorium is designed to assist those affected by COVID-19, as well as to protect the general economy of the State of Utah.
Background:
Details of the Order: click here to view
The executive order goes into effect April 1, 2020. The order prevents a landlord from filing an eviction for non-payment of rent, given a specific set of circumstances, until May 16, 2020. Here are the details of the Order:
Summary:
While this order is not at all perfect - we understand the difficult situation we are all facing as a community. We commend our state leaders for being willing to take on difficult issues. We also commend the Governor, and his team, for working with the housing industry and hearing our concerns and accommodating this executive order accordingly. It should also be noted that as a response to our conversations, the state is working to allocate a $5million emergency housing fund for tenant in need. While COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges, our members are tenacious and will work together to overcome this difficult time - and for that we thank our dedicated members who are essential towards providing housing for over 1/3 of our States citizens.
Background:
- Over the past couple of weeks the state courts have increased the total eviction time (as an average) from 3.5 weeks to 5-8 weeks.
- Some judges have already (personally) created rent moratorium's in their court room, and were not granting any evictions for non payment of rent.
- The entire court system, as well as county and city municipalities have been contemplating creating their own official rent moratoriums
- The official numbers are not available - but estimation is that unemployment is between 10%-20% right now in Utah (it was at 2% last October). There is a growing fear from economist that a large number of these individuals will file for bankruptcy. If they did - landlords would be unable to collect rent for 6-9 months while these tenants worked through their bankruptcies (including other types of evictions). This is what occurred in 2008 and state/industry leaders are very concerned about preventing a similar housing crash.
- Yesterday morning the Governors office reached out to the UAA and notified us that they were going to be issuing an executive order for a state wide moratorium. Their goal with the moratorium was to protect the well being of the public as a whole, to prevent bankruptcies and allow tenants time to receive state/federal assistance, and to prevent local moratoriums at court/municipal level. We worked with their office to try and remove as much harmful language as possible from their order
Details of the Order: click here to view
The executive order goes into effect April 1, 2020. The order prevents a landlord from filing an eviction for non-payment of rent, given a specific set of circumstances, until May 16, 2020. Here are the details of the Order:
- This order only prevents evictions for non-payment of rent.
- This order only applies to tenants who were current on rent on March 31, 2020
- This order only applies to tenants who can document: a loss of wages or job as a result of COVID-19, has undergone self isolation/quarantine, or has tested positive for COVID-19
- This order does not require, create, or imply rent forgiveness. It is still the obligation of the tenant to have all rents and fees paid/current on May 15, 2020.
- This order does not prohibit a landlord from accepting rent during this time - only filing an eviction. Tenants are still encouraged to pay what they can when they can to prevent a situation where they are unable to pay by May 15th
Summary:
While this order is not at all perfect - we understand the difficult situation we are all facing as a community. We commend our state leaders for being willing to take on difficult issues. We also commend the Governor, and his team, for working with the housing industry and hearing our concerns and accommodating this executive order accordingly. It should also be noted that as a response to our conversations, the state is working to allocate a $5million emergency housing fund for tenant in need. While COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges, our members are tenacious and will work together to overcome this difficult time - and for that we thank our dedicated members who are essential towards providing housing for over 1/3 of our States citizens.
COVID-19 Press Release
On March 23, 2020 The Utah Apartment Association (UAA), announces a plan to help renters cope with the economic impacts of COVID-19. The UAA commends state and local leaders in their efforts to address the health emergency. However, these health efforts have led to reductions in working hours and wages and created other financial hardships for renters. These financial hardships have a brutal and immediate impact on many renters that rely on regular wages to meet their financial obligations including rent, utilities, food and transportation needs.
In addition to the immediate, financial concerns of renters, the housing industry must also balance its commitments and duties to lenders, employees, maintenance staff and maintaining affordable housing in professional, comfortable conditions.
To accommodate renters who are in financial crisis as a result of Covid-19, while still meeting the commitments of the industry, UAA is promoting rent deferment plans for the month of April 2020. We encourage all property managers to adopt programs that are appropriate for them. These plans allow renters to qualify for rent deferment by demonstrating that their financial status has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A renter may demonstrate financial impact by evidencing exposure to the virus and the resulting quarantine requirements, or loss of hours or wages as a result of public health-related business closures related to the pandemic. When renters qualify, landlords and management companies will provide plans to defer a portion, or potentially all, of April’s rent payment, to be paid at a later date. Such deferments may allow April rent to be paid over the course of several months or in one lump sum at a later date. Renters who can pay should continue to do so, and any federal relief money sent to individuals should be used to stay current on rent and other obligations.
We recognize property managers may choose to implement rent deferral programs differently, but encourage them to focus on finding a win/win and enabling tenants who agree to a payment plan to stay. We also ask property owners to avoid filing evictions for non-payment due to qualifying reasons in April, when renters communicate and sign rent deferral agreements.
We are confident that Utah is resilient and will overcome the temporary effects of this pandemic. We will continue to monitor and assess the housing situation in Utah and support further measures if needed. We again thank our government and industry leaders for their tireless efforts in this unprecedented time.
In addition to the immediate, financial concerns of renters, the housing industry must also balance its commitments and duties to lenders, employees, maintenance staff and maintaining affordable housing in professional, comfortable conditions.
To accommodate renters who are in financial crisis as a result of Covid-19, while still meeting the commitments of the industry, UAA is promoting rent deferment plans for the month of April 2020. We encourage all property managers to adopt programs that are appropriate for them. These plans allow renters to qualify for rent deferment by demonstrating that their financial status has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A renter may demonstrate financial impact by evidencing exposure to the virus and the resulting quarantine requirements, or loss of hours or wages as a result of public health-related business closures related to the pandemic. When renters qualify, landlords and management companies will provide plans to defer a portion, or potentially all, of April’s rent payment, to be paid at a later date. Such deferments may allow April rent to be paid over the course of several months or in one lump sum at a later date. Renters who can pay should continue to do so, and any federal relief money sent to individuals should be used to stay current on rent and other obligations.
We recognize property managers may choose to implement rent deferral programs differently, but encourage them to focus on finding a win/win and enabling tenants who agree to a payment plan to stay. We also ask property owners to avoid filing evictions for non-payment due to qualifying reasons in April, when renters communicate and sign rent deferral agreements.
We are confident that Utah is resilient and will overcome the temporary effects of this pandemic. We will continue to monitor and assess the housing situation in Utah and support further measures if needed. We again thank our government and industry leaders for their tireless efforts in this unprecedented time.
