Current Information About the COVID-19
Pandemic on Maryland Real Estate
We originally published this information starting on April 2, 2020. Our principal broker, Dale M. Servetnick, updated it several times each week. You may also be interested in information provided by the Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors in Getting Clarity During Covid-19: This Too Shall Pass.
It appears that the pandemic is now over, even though the virus will remain likely forever. Here are what was likely the last information available from the daily updates of COVID-19 cases in Maryland. As of April 27, 2023, the total was 1,377,353 COVID-19 cases.
Financial Impact on Tenants and Landlords
On September 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a temporary eviction moratorium as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this order, landlords and property owners were prohibited from evicting certain tenants impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This moratorium impacted residential real estate in Maryland. Also, the moratorium was extended to June 30, 2021.
The Governor extended the State of Emergency in Maryland on October 30, 2020. All Maryland residents were reminded to remain vigilant when leaving home. The Governor requested that residents continue to practice social distancing, hand-washing hygiene and wearing face masks or coverings. The face coverings were generally mandatory inside and are now strongly encouraged outside when social distancing is not possible.
Based on the news reports, it is likely that there will be continued financial impacts from COVID-19 for real estate in Maryland. This will impact many of our tenants and homeowners. On March 10, 2020, we published the Corona Virus and the Maryland Real Estate Market. In that article, we discuss the decrease in activity that we expect in the real estate market because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We know that District Court of Maryland has suspended much of its operations well into 2021 because of COVID-19. The impacts on Maryland real estate is massive. This means that no Failure to Pay Rent or other landlord-tenant actions will be heard. Also, no evictions are being scheduled. We’re sure that it will take several months for the backlog of cases to be cleared.
We have several tenants that are having a financial hardship due to COVID-19. They contacted us to discuss the status of their rent payments. All we are requiring is that they provide documentation from their employer about their situation. We are working with our tenants about their rent payments and keeping the homeowners informed.
The impact of delayed rent payments is also causing difficulties for our homeowners. They rely on rental proceeds to maintain their homes (mortgage payments, HOA dues, repairs, etc.). We will be working them, too, to help in any way that we can. We are delaying all but emergency repairs and maintenance to ease their financial burden. Each of our homeowners is being given updates on their specific properties as needed.
