The War on Landlords
From Covid eviction bans to tenant-slanted laws, property owners are under financial siege. Here’s what Trump can do about it.
by Steven Malanga
Introduction
One of the ironies of Donald Trump’s first presidency is that a former real-estate investor and landlord enacted an unprecedented federal eviction ban. In early 2020, as Covid lockdowns paralyzed the country, Trump signed the CARES Act, placing a moratorium on evictions for any rental properties with federal loans or assistance. Despite the unprecedented scope of the eviction ban and billions in aid, tenant-advocacy groups blasted Trump for doing too little to prevent what headlines called an impending “eviction tsunami.”
Impact on Landlords
Many of these measures outlasted the pandemic, shifting the legal balance sharply toward tenants and jeopardizing the financial stability of landlords—from small property owners to large nonprofit housing operators. The barrage of new legislation won’t benefit tenants the way advocacy groups that lobbied for the laws claim, and it won’t make housing more affordable. Instead, the laws provide so many extraordinary protections that they’ve cultivated an attitude among tenants of not paying rents and of using the intricacies of new laws and programs to game the system at the expense of its financial stability.
Consequences of Eviction Bans
Alarmed by the consequences, some local officials are now pushing for reforms. In tenant-friendly Washington, D.C.—where even nonprofit affordable-housing providers face significant losses—Mayor Muriel Bowser recently admitted, “What we want is for people to pay their rent.”
Financial Impact on Landlords
Covid lockdowns hit most U.S. businesses hard, but renter-favoring federal and local policies made the pandemic especially devastating for residential landlords. The biggest blow came from a series of broad national eviction moratoriums for nonpayment of rent, starting with the March 2020 passage of the CARES Act, which included a 120-day national eviction ban.
Challenges Faced by Landlords
Further, 43 states and hundreds of local governments used emergency powers during Covid to enforce their own wider proscriptions of tenant removals. While some lasted for just a few months, others extended for years. Eviction bans lasted in New York and Minnesota until 2022, and in parts of California until March 2023.
Policy Impact on Housing Supply
The bans encouraged widespread rent refusal, even among those who were still working or had received enhanced government benefits, such as extended unemployment insurance. Landlords have received little sympathy for their challenges. As eviction bans expired or were overturned, local newspapers predicted massive tenant displacement and a surge in homelessness.
Effects of Tenant-Friendly Legislation
Sensational headlines and reports from tenant advocates about a national crisis have unleashed a different kind of tsunami: hundreds of new state and local laws marketed as tenant protections. In just three years, local governments have passed 217 measures across 16 categories, including caps on rent increases, restrictions on lease nonrenewals, mandates for landlords to participate in the federal housing-voucher program, and strict limits on security deposits and fees.
Conclusion
The rise of tenant-friendly legislation is more than just a headache for landlords. It’s also a potential nightmare for tenants, as investment in rental housing slows, availability declines, and rents go up. As president, Trump will oversee a federal government that provides nearly $50 billion annually to states and localities to support affordable-housing efforts. The second Trump administration wants to address many pressing issues in its early months, but Trump himself, with his background, must understand the threat that America’s economy faces from this new age of anti-landlordism.