Monday, February 8, 2021
WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — Richard Brown is a landlord of several properties in Winchester, Virginia, mostly small, single-family homes. In August, Brown found himself having to pay the mortgages on his properties as well as maintenance and utilities while income from his tenants was dropping due to the pandemic.
Brown reported that half of his tenants are no longer paying monthly rent. He and many other property owners in a similar situation don’t expect their renters will ever be able to repay the thousands of dollars in back rent when the moratorium is lifted eventually.
“They’re never going to be able to collect on it and everyone knows that,” said Caleb Kruckenberg, a litigation counsel at the New Civil Liberties Alliance. “A lot of landlords are small mom and pops. They pay mortgages on these properties and if they don’t get rent, they can’t pay the mortgage.” …
