Small "mom and pop" landlords, often defined as landlords who own or manager fewer than 20 units, reported lower rent collections in 2020, with 25 percent of them borrowing money to cover operating costs, according to a survey by The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and UC Berkley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

In the survey, about 58 percent owned or managed 1-4 units, and 25 percent owned or managed 5 to 19 units. The majority of respondents were in California, Texas and Illinois. About 67 percent of these landlords perceived their rental properties as a source of retirement income.

Since March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has shut down restaurants and businesses throughout the country, resulting in record-high numbers of unemployment claims. In many cases, the impact on rent payments, though, has been muted with renters able to meet their obligations using the weekly $600 unemployment benefit.  With that program ending this week and Congress not close to settling on a new plan, there are fears that renters may start defaulting in greater numbers. This will be particularly acute in the affordable housing space—and small landlords are ill-equipped to handle the storm.