Multifamily relief funds don’t quite match renter share per state: study

Loan performance in the multifamily sector has held up relatively well so far despite the federal eviction ban, but the national moratorium’s end July 31 raises questions about whether that will continue.

The industry’s ability to identify and resolve challenges in the population-based distribution of nearly $47 billion in federal housing assistance funds the Treasury is handing down to the states will play a big role in whether it does. So it’s worth noting that the money is a little mismatched when analyzed by renter share at the state level — even though recent estimates suggest it’ll be adequate on an aggregate basis.

Nearly 13.5% of U.S. renters live in California, for example, but it’s receiving under 11% of the funds available, Freddie Mac researchers found in a report released Wednesday. In contrast, Vermont received 0.83% of the funds but is home to just 0.17% of the country’s renters.

“Approximately half of the states received less funding than their share of renters would indicate, while the other half received more,” authors Corey Aber, a senior director in multifamily mission, policy and strategy, and Samantha Lerner, a policy associate, said in the study.

The discrepancies are generally minimal with the exception of the ones in California and New York. The Empire State houses 7.85% of the country’s renters and is receiving 5.39% of the funds allocated by the Treasury.

The two states’ mismatches don’t necessarily mean the funds will run out because there are mechanisms for resolving them, but they do suggest additional challenges for New York and California after their particular eviction bans end. New York’s will end on Aug. 31, and California has extended its moratorium to Sept. 30.

Freddie Mac has asked its network of multifamily mortgage companies to help share information about assistance for renters with property owners they service loans, and for those landlords to, in turn, get word out to their tenants.