She’s a great lady and she works hard but I can’t waive her rent: Residential rental property owner decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic

Housing is a fundamental component of the physical environment of human communities, and in places dominated by rental housing of any kind, post-disaster stability requires that residential rental property owners (RRPOs) remain solvent. Despite popular conceptions of wealthy property owners with deep pockets, the majority of RRPOs in the U.S. own properties with a value of $200,000 or less and about 41% report having debt. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many to manage revenue shortfalls while trying to fulfill their obligations to provide tenants with safe housing at existing rents. Using qualitative data from 52 interviews in four cities with independent RRPOs who self-manage their residential rental properties, this study asks the question, “How did rental property owners respond to the tension between regulatory restrictions and their financial obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic?” Analysis reveals five key domains of RRPO stress: tenants, rental units, business operations, personal circumstances, and regulation. Weakened tenant relationships and a desire to leave the market emerge as key RRPO responses, suggesting that while disasters inhibit short term housing security for tenants, they also inhibit longer-term rental housing stability for communities.