With the expiration of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, renters across the country are wondering what to do as eviction moratoriums and expanded unemployment end. This puts rental counselors in a challenging spot.
"This is a burning topic," instructor Autumn Lubin told the group gathered for her course, Rental Counseling and Eviction Preventions Amid the COVID-19 Crisis. The early morning session took place during NeighborWorks America's first Virtual Training Institute (VTI), which began Aug. 17. Lubin's course was among the first offered at the inaugural event, a new way of presenting NeighborWorks' training and networking opportunities to practitioners in affordable housing and community development nonprofits. For decades, NeighborWorks America has provided intensive training institutes throughout the country each year. The VTI will add to this broad-based training model going forward. Approximately 1,300 people are participating in the weeklong event.
Tenant relief associated with the CARES Act ended at the end of July. While housing leaders expect Congress to pass some additional relief measures when legislators meet again in September, "at this point, it's over," says Lubin, founder of Yellow Wood Pathways, a firm specializing in training and curriculum development for nonprofits, lenders and the real estate and service communities. "People are really in a panic right now. COVID-19 has had an impact on all of us. There's not an American that hasn't escaped the impact of COVID."
Her 90-minute session focused on practical advice to housing counselors. She also reminded the group that there are state and local eviction moratoriums in addition to the federal moratorium; some of those extend beyond July. "Know what's going on in your area," Lubin said. She has the same advice when it comes to how the eviction process works. "It's going to be different in every state."
Lubin's advice ranged from tips on working from home ("set realistic goals") to creating a triage process for clients. That means identifying who needs immediate help, like those for whom the eviction process has already begun, and those who can wait just a little longer, like a client who has missed a payment. "A triage process, similar to what we do with foreclosure clients, might be the thing that's going to save you" as the calls start coming in, she said.
Other tips for counselors and coaches, which can be used at any time, not just during COVID, included:
- Put together a list of resources including information about pro-bono attorneys, Legal Aid and unemployment support groups. "Those who are unemployed get isolated very quickly," Lubin says.
- Show clients a summary of their situation on paper that includes assets, what's coming in and what's going out.
- Guide the client through the process of making a crisis budget, but don't make decisions for them. "Resist doing what they can do themselves," Lubin says. "Give them back every little victory they can have."
- Encourage clients to talk to landlords and consider offering counseling services to landlords who are also struggling with mortgage issues.
- Create an action plan.
