The Colorado Apartment Association Reports Nearly 89% of Coloradans Paid May Rent on Time, Higher Th

DENVER (May 13, 2020) – The Colorado Apartment Association reported that 88.8% of renters paid May
rent in full by May 5. This is a significant improvement over April, when 83.6% of residents had paid by
April 6 (a 5.2 percentage point increase in rent payment). This shows that, despite concerns about May,
the financial impact has not been as severe as anticipated.

“April turned out to be a good month for rent collections and, now, May is off to even a stronger start.
CAA and its member companies had concerns that Coloradans would be more impacted in May than in
April due to the length of the shutdown, but May’s rate of rent payments is off to a solid start,” said
Mark Williams, executive vice president of the Colorado Apartment Association.

The trend that May’s rent collections will outperform April is consistent with national numbers compiled
by National Multifamily Housing Council, which reported 80.2% rent collections for May 6 compared to
78% rent collection for April 6.

“Colorado has generally had better collection rates than national averages,” reported Williams. “When I
speak to asset managers who have portfolios in Colorado and other states, they are consistently seeing
better numbers here locally by at least a few percentage points.

“It is normal for rent delinquency rates to be highest at the beginning of the month and decrease as
more residents pay rent throughout the month. During an average month, rent delinquency rates are
between 5% and 6% after the first week, but decrease to 1% or 2% by the month’s conclusion. As such,
it is inevitable that over 89% of residents will pay rent by the end of May, especially considering that
housing providers are not charging late fees, so residents are more likely to pay rent later in the month.”
CAA collected data from 137,719 apartment homes across Colorado. The reported data comes from 84
different apartment management companies, ranging in portfolio size from 20 units to over 20,000
units. The average reporting portfolio was 1,600 units with a median number of 457 apartment homes
managed by these companies.

CAA continues to provide resources for residents struggling with May payments. Most recently, the
association partnered with the Resident Relief Foundation (RRF) to create a financial relief fund to
directly help Colorado residents struggling to pay their rent because of coronavirus-related job or
income loss or illness. The RRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides rental assistance
grants to responsible residents during temporary financial emergencies. The organization recently
launched a national multifamily industry fundraising initiative to raise $10 million for rent payment
assistance caused by the coronavirus pandemic. CAA joined the effort to bring this funding to Colorado
and encourages anyone with the financial means to contribute to RRF’s Colorado fund to directly
support fellow Colorado residents with upcoming rent obligations.

“The Colorado Apartment Association is the only rental housing association in the United States that has
partnered with us to help reach our goal of $10 million in rental relief,” said Tina Oswald, executive
director of RRF. “Some Colorado residents are experiencing overwhelming financial pressure and
desperately need help from those who are financially secure in their communities. CAA is choosing to be
part of the solution by helping residents fill the gap in federal aid and get Coloradans the help they
need.”

Residents who meet the program criteria can apply for partial-to-full rent payment grants if they have
experienced virus-related income or job loss. The relief funds will be given on a first-come, first-served
basis, and qualified residents are encouraged to reach out as soon as they receive a demand for
payment from the housing provider.

It is important for residents to continue making rent payments if they are able. Some residents
inaccurately think that mortgage payments are the only cost associated with providing rental housing.
According to a breakdown by the National Apartment Association, only 9% of every rent dollar is
returned to the rental housing provider. For the rest of the rental payment, 52% accounts for the
property mortgage and property taxes, 27% is used to cover payroll expenses, and 10% covers capital
expenditures like unit repairs.

CAA also has assembled a list of COVID-19 resources for residents, which can be found here:
https://www.aamdhq.org/news/coronavirus under the Renter Resources tab.

About the Colorado Apartment Association
The Colorado Apartment Association (CAA) is a non-profit trade association representing owners,
developers, management companies, and vendors of the multifamily rental housing industry. CAA is
comprised of four local affiliates from across the state. The association represents over 3,100 members
who own and manage over 300,000 apartment homes, which totals more than $60 billion in assets.
Together with the local affiliates, the National Multifamily Housing Council, and the National Apartment
Association (NAA), CAA offers a strong network of information, education and representation of the
multifamily housing industry.