CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- The federal eviction moratorium was lifted Monday, marking the end of relief for renters. It prohibited landlords from evicting tenants over failure to pay rents during the pandemic as a result when many lost their jobs.
"I think the perception has been that there is going to be this mass wave of evictions and that kind of thing as an outgrowth of the end of the eviction moratorium,” Nicholas Chandley, director of property management with the Real Estate Group, said. “In my world, that’s not really the case."
Chandley’s clients include property owners who rent out to tenants and who have not been able to make an income off their properties.
“I’m not motivated as either a human being property manager to render someone homeless,” Chandley said. “That is absolutely the worst possible outcome that one can have."
During the pandemic, he said he has worked with those landlords and tenants to make sure no one is forced out.
“We are motivated to keep people in their homes, try to work with them. Obviously, that’s a two-way communication,” Chandley said. “You can’t just shut down on me and not take my phone calls and I don’t know what’s going on."
He also mentioned how some of his clients - those that own the properties - may only have one home to rent out.
“Many of the homes that I manage are the one and only investment property families or couples are on,” Chandley explained. “For them, it’s kind of feast or famine."
The Federal Relief Program has provided more than hundreds of millions of dollars to Virginia and North Carolina. Chandley said his clients have received money after they submitted information and went through a vetting process.
“A 45-day window to vet that and spit back out a check,” he explained. “I don’t think any of them were denied."
Just because the moratorium has expired, he said it is not too late.
“The rent relief works from a pool of money, and there is still money in that pool,” Chandley said. “The fact that the eviction moratorium ended doesn’t cut off folks ability to seek relief from the rent relief program."
Both Virginia and North Carolina still have their Rent Relief Programs still active for both renters and landlords. Those interested on obtaining information or to apply can access the websites for both: Click here for Virginia, and click here for North Carolina.
