Borrowers holding portfolios of single family rentals that serve as a basis for mortgage-backed securities could improve the precision of performance projections of the loans undergirding them and, ultimately, those bond ratings by supplying more financial information about their holdings, according to Fitch Ratings. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has, so far, generally affected renters more than homeowners, and many single-family-rental borrowers have sought payment relief, Fitch experts say.  Potential credit losses tied to single-family rentals will depend on the pandemic's duration and the degree to which fiscal interventions by the federal government can mitigate the impact of the resulting recession on consumers, they said.

But ratings of restructured deals resulting from economic conditions tied to the pandemic could potentially be enhanced by additional information not typically required from single-family-rental borrowers, Fitch experts said.