Study: Iowa renters at high risk of falling off financial cliff

Calls from distressed Iowa renters are up more than 1,000%, according to a new study by Money Management International. CREDIT MMI

Iowa renters are among the Americans most at risk of crashing off a financial cliff as moratoriums and forbearance programs come to an end, according to a new study by Money Management International, one of the largest nonprofit credit counseling providers in the U.S.

According to the organization’s analysis, Iowa had the second highest percentage increase in calls for help from renters through March of this year, up 1,167% compared to last year.

“If we all don’t step up and work to pull these at-risk households back, the contraction of the national consumer base is going to hurt not only individuals and families, but businesses, communities and the broader economy,” said MMI Chief External Affairs Officer Michelle Sloan Jones in a release.

The study found millions of Americans who used to be middle class have slipped into lower income brackets during the pandemic, highlighting dramatic disparities in how the COVID-19 crisis continues to affect the state of consumer economic health, particularly among lower income Americans.

MMI released its findings last week as part of its The Year Ahead: How the Pandemic Hit Wallets and What’s Next for Americans’ Financial Wellness presentation.

The U.S. Congress allocated $25 billion in rental assistance in December and an additional $21.55 billion in March, but a federal eviction moratorium expires at the end of June. That has many experts sounding the alarm about a potential deluge of evictions ahead.

Estimates about the amount of back rent owed across the country range from $8.4 billion to $52.6 billion, Vox reported this week, with the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America reporting 23.7% of renters have missed at least one payment over the past year and 8.6% have missed more than two payments.

Axios reported last month that a recent housing pulse survey from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that 69,528 people in Iowa are not caught up on rent, and that 109,515 have no or only slight confidence that they will be able to make their next payment.

IMAGE: Calls from distressed Iowa renters are up more than 1,000%, according to a new study by Money Management International. CREDIT MMI