Landlords want to be paid for pandemic losses and hope to reach a deal with the Trump administration

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 8:41 AM EDT, May 3, 2026


BOSTON (AP) — Just months into the pandemic, Matthew Haines, like landlords across the country, learned he was barred from evicting tenants who didn’t pay their rent under a federal eviction moratorium that lasted almost a year — costing him and his investors over $1 million. Now, the 57-year-old Texan is hoping to get some relief.

Haines is among more than 1,500 property owners who filed a federal lawsuit arguing the moratorium enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention violated the Fifth Amendment by unlawfully denying them compensation. Plaintiffs range from those who lost thousands of dollars to one who lost over $14.5 million.

After initially losing in the Court of Federal Claims in 2022, the plaintiffs won on appeal and are now in settlement discussions with the Justice Department. Landlords are hoping to recoup as much as $1.5 billion — a fraction of what the industry lost.

“It’s important for us to stand up when a group like the CDC unilaterally, functionally, decides that they have a right to oversee our business,” said Haines, who owns three rental communities with 240 units in Arlington and Irving, Texas.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/landlord-pandemic-covid-trump-77956643b46204bbb9e8447b7826956d

[bucolic_frolic]

1. If he did evict all his tenants, who was going to replace them?

The Evicted Army of the Homeless? (Who lost their jobs and had no money.)

I thought the Feds paid a lot of rent during the pandemic.

This is a bad deal for taxpayers. They are chasing phantom rental reimbursement. But surely Trump's DOJ will cut them a STIM check so they can complain about Democrat Deficits, even though Trump was in office in 2020.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. I think this was done by a group of MAGat Texans.

You can tell by the rhetoric from their interview quotes. And I expect that the fault lies with Abbott as I think states administered the funding disbursements for the various programs.

[gopiscrap]

3. fuck 'em

[Buddyzbuddy]

4. You know damn well they wrote it off on their taxes.

As a matter of fact, did the Felon ever have to pay taxes on the gains from his bankruptcies? People can be held liable for taxes on charge offs and shortsales of properties.

[NH Ethylene]

5. Actually I think they should be reimbursed.

Even at the time I thought it was terribly unfair to tell landlords they could not evict a tenant who was not paying rent. Landlords were unpaid but still had to provide the service, which involves paying their taxes, doing needed repairs, maintaining utilities if they were included in the rental price.

Imagine telling supermarkets they could not charge for food during the pandemic, or airlines that they would have to transport people for free. I just don't believe that it is right (or Constitutional) to force someone to provide a service for no payment, under any circumstances.

The intention was good. Many people could not go to work during that time, through no fault of their own, and a surge of homelessness during a pandemic would have been disastrous. But it should have been dealt with differently, perhaps with a freeze of rental prices combined with a rent voucher system.

So I think these businesses should be reimbursed, as long as they can document their losses accurately.

[Jacson6]

7. Sympathy for the devil. n/t

[dickthegrouch]

6. I had a home rented out before the pandemic

5 adults with jobs lived there.
By May 2020 five adults without jobs lived there.
HOWEVER those five adults were each receiving 600/week from the State. More than enough to cover their collective rent.
I saw not one cent of it.
This was partly the government's fault. But it was wholly the nefariousness of those residents in failing to pay their contractual obligations that caused me a world of hurt.
I agree that the government effectively took my contracts away from me without so much as a by-your-leave. I certainly see that as taking something from me without due process.
Yes I was able to write some of that loss off on taxes.
The renters gained 100% of those taxpayer funds. I sent letters to my State senators saying if there is a next time, that rental monies should be paid directly to the landlord.
My loss was over $50,000. Straight out of my retirement money.