Pennsylvania Eviction Moratorium

[Jake Ernst]

So I'm a little uncertain if I should pause my process in buying a rental property. Governor Wolf just extended Pennsylvania's eviction moratorium to August 31 preventing evictions of those that have lost income due to covid. Do you think this really has any affect on eventually putting a renter into a property since I can make sure it is someone with a solid income? I can see Governor Wolf continually extending the moratorium but if my hypothetical renter hasn't lost their income to this point, I would think they have a lower chance of losing it going forward. So should I continue my process and starting looking for a rental in PA? Thank you for your advice.

Jake

[Kim Vandermark]

Hi Jake, 

I am not an expert nor do I have the inside scoop on what will happen regarding the moratorium, but I do think you are correct that it will likely be extended at least a few more times. Unfortunately a tenant can stop paying rent even if they haven't lost their job and there is nothing we (landlords) can do about that during the moratorium. I have several rental properties in PA and am dealing with this now. A tenant who collects money from SSI every month has chosen to take advantage of the situation and stopped paying rent a few months back. There is nothing I can do at this point. Now if you buy a place that doesn't have tenants in it already, and you carefully screen your tenants, you can put in people who care about their credit and will be less likely to stop paying rent. Screening and being selective is the key to staving off problems. I inherited these tenants and would never have rented to them. Good luck! Kim