"The end of the pandemic, but not renter distress" is the headline of a new study from UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies and the Lusk Center for Real Estate, which found that the rent debt in Los Angeles is substantial. Los Angeles County has $3 billion in total rent debt, and Los Angeles city has about $1.5 million in unpaid rent from the pandemic. Among those with rent debt, the average tenant owes $2,800 in unpaid rent.

The share of renters unable to make payments only worsened as the pandemic wore on. From May to July 2020—near the onset of the pandemic—about 7% of renters did not make a single payment. Likewise, from January to March 2021, the same share, 7%, of renters did not make a single payment. However, the share of renters that made a partial payment increased from 17% in May through July 2020 to 31% in January to March 2021.

The UCLA/USC study surveyed 1,000 households to examine the accumulated rent debt, and found that nearly half of the households had difficulty making rent payments through the pandemic. Overall, 49% of tenants said that they owe some amount of money to their landlord, and among those that owe back rent, 20% owed less than a months rent and 15% owed more than six months in total rent debt.