Reports about the percentage of apartment residents who have paid their rent on time despite many dealing with economic struggles brought on by Covid-19 have been valuable to multifamily operators.

One apartment research firm has gone one step further – it asked the residents themselves.

J Turner Research surveyed more than 3,700 renters April 23-30 to estimate rent collection for May. It was able to predict rent collection of 80.8 percent for May. (J Turner’s 80.8 percent mark counts as 72.22 percent to be paid on the 1^st and 80.8 percent to be paid by the 10^th).

That 80.8 came within a percentage point of actual rent receipt of 80.2 percent as of May 6, as reported by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC)’s Rent Payment Tracker.

NMHC’s calculation is based on 11.2 million units nationwide, so statistically, this sample size proved to be a pretty significant reading.

Number of Residents Laid-Off

J Turner’s report includes facts and opinions based on their personal employment situation and the economy.

The percentage of renters who have had their pay reduced is 6 percent; had their hours reduced (16 percent); suffered both (10 percent) and was not affected (68 percent).

Fifty percent of residents who indicated they had been furloughed/laid off said they would be able to pay the rent for May on time.

As for their state re-opening its economy, nearly 51 percent chose “no; it’s better to be safe than sorry,” 41 percent prefer opening the economy in phases and 8 percent selected “open it up completely.” The 8 percent is up 2 percentage points compared to the original April survey’s results.

An overwhelming percentage (93 percent) of respondents affirmed that they were avoiding public gatherings due to the coronavirus.

“This is a very personal, sensitive topic,” Joseph Batdorf, President, J Turner Research says. “We’re pleased with the response rate, all things considered. And as we talk to operators now, they are pleasantly surprised at the number of residents who are paying rent. But they then quickly focus on: What about June?”

‘Better Than We Expected’

As for rent payments, thought, so far, the industry agrees, “It’s better than we expected,” especially given its worries back in late March. What’s in store for the rest of Q2 will lie in the industry’s continued surveys and data collection.

The 80.2 percent reported by NMHC is a 1.5-percentage point decrease in the share who paid rent through May 6, 2019, according to NMHC, and compares to 78 percent that had paid by April 6, 2020. These NMHC data encompass a wide variety of market-rate rental properties across the United States, which can vary by size, type and average rental price.

“Despite the fact that over 20 million people lost their jobs in April, for the second month in a row, we are seeing evidence that apartment renters who can pay rent are stepping up and doing so,” NMHC President Doug Bibby said in a press release. “We expect May to largely mirror April, when the payment rate increased throughout the month as financial assistance worked its way to people’s bank accounts.”

However, “we are in uncharted waters and will be watching this closely” over the course of the month as millions of households will not be able to access unemployment benefits, and those who have may find that they are not enough to cover rent plus all the other financial pressures caused by this crisis, Bibby said.

“Those benefits will also likely fall short in high-cost areas,” he added. “That’s why we are calling on Congress to include $100 billion in direct renter assistance in the next pandemic relief package.”