January Rent Collection Ticks Up Following Infusion of Rental Assistance

Renton, Washington – Washington Multi-Family Housing Association’s (WMFHA) found 94.6%  of statewide apartment homes made a full or partial payment by January 31, 2021). The data was collected from the association’s 267,000 professionally managed homes in the state.

This is a 2.5 percentage point increase from the previous month of collected. The data encompass a wide variety of affordable and market-rate rental properties across Washington state, which vary by size, type, and average rental price.

The infusion of rental assistance into the rental market is showing signs of successfully stabilizing rental payments.  However short- and longer-term recovery depend on the availability of additional rental assistance resources to provide help to renters struggling to meet their basic expenses amid this Pandemic.

WMFHA has been collecting local rent payment information from its members since the COVID-19 pandemic proliferated in March 2020. The numbers serve as an indicator of resident financial challenges and will track the recovery as well.

The survey has become crucial to local policymakers to understand the state of the rental housing industry. It helps to inform any legislation that is produced in city, county, and statewide jurisdictions.

If you have any questions, please contact Brett Waller, WMFHA Director of Government Affairs – brett@wmfha.org or 425.656.9077.

The rent payment survey is one of many WMFHA-produced resources focused on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additional resources and information can be found here: https://www.wmfha.org/news/covid-19, as well as rental assistance resources here: https://www.wmfha.org/rental-assistance.

Washington Multi-Family Housing Association (WMFHA) is Washington’s trusted rental housing resource. An affiliate of National Apartment Association, we are committed to advocating for legislation equitable to our industry and the community, providing educational opportunities to promote career development, and celebrating and supporting the multifamily housing industry. For more information, visit our website at https://www.wmfha.org.