Creative Strategies for Landlords and Tenants to Survive the COVID-19 Shutdown

It is important to note that eviction moratoria and related restrictions differ across states, counties, cities and regions. While city and local jurisdictions seek to employ their state's guidelines, they often take it a step or two further, or not far enough, based on local conditions, which can be impacted by politics and lobbying. New law, rules and ordinances are not relieving any tenants of rent liability, but rather merely extending the tenant's time to pay. Thus, unless a lease provides for rent abatement under these particular conditions, the burden of the pandemic is still left squarely on tenants' shoulders. Few, if any, leases shift the financial burden of the pandemic shut down to the landlord. Few, if any, insurance policies insure against pandemic shutdowns. However, although contractually it appears that landlords will not bear the burden of the shutdown, in fact many will lose a lot due to necessary evictions, vacancies, and the probability of a more competitive rental market and tenant insolvencies.