CAA Reports Over 95% of Coloradans Paid May Rent in May

DENVER (May 27, 2020) – The Colorado Apartment Association reported that 95.2% of renters paid May rent in full by the end of the month. This is an improvement over April, when approximately 91% of residents had paid by the end of the month. The improvement by over 4 percentage points shows that, despite concerns about May, the financial impact has not been as severe as anticipated.

“Rent payments finished strong at the end of May, even compared to the relatively high percentages in April. It’s clear that the industry’s innovative solutions to helping renters from the very beginning of this pandemic are making a difference,” said Mark Williams, executive vice president of the Colorado Apartment Association. “As more Coloradans return to work, we anticipate these numbers will continue to stabilize. This is important as unemployment support and other government resources are diminished.”

The trend of May’s rent collections outperforming April is consistent with national numbers compiled by National Multifamily Housing Council, which reported 90.8% rent collections in May compared to 85% rent collection for April.

“Colorado has had stronger rent collection rates than national averages, and May rent payments are no exception,” reported Williams. “When I speak to asset managers who have portfolios in Colorado andother states, they are consistently reporting better numbers 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 4% and 6% after the first week, but decrease to .05% to 2% by the month’s conclusion. This helps explain why 95.2% of residents paid 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 over 125,000 apartment homes across Colorado. The reported data comes from 50 different apartment management companies, ranging in portfolio size from 20 units to over 20,000 units. The median reporting portfolio was 1,107 apartment homes managed by these companies.

CAA continues to provide resources for residents struggling with rental 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

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 Supplier Partners of the multifamily rental housing industry.
CAA is comprised of four local affiliates from across the state. The association represents over 3,000
members who own and manage over 300,000 apartment homes, which totals more than $88 billion in
assets. Together with the local affiliates, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), and the
National Apartment Association (NAA), CAA offers a strong network of information, education and
representation of the multifamily housing industry.