A trends report by property management software company Rentec Direct found that rent payments in August of 2020 were down 29% year-over-year and 12% in the last five months, signaling that the expiration of federal aid to offset economic hardship due to the pandemic has a high cost. 

"Our data shows a consistent downward trend in the number of rent payments received by property managers and landlords, dropping more than 12 percent in the last five months alone," Nathan Miller, president of Rentec Direct, said in a statement. "Many tenants are relying on various temporary regulations that protect them as widespread unemployment and income loss impact the nation, and this means fewer renters are paying their rent."

While rent payments overall are down, a disturbing trend that has emerged is the reduction in online payments in August, which while not suffering to the degree overall rent payments have, is still significant, as traditionally those paying online tend to make their payments with more regularity.