Landlords and rental industry leaders who spoke to National Review said the threat of a massive eviction crisis has been overdramatized. Yes, there are millions of Americans behind in their rent, and yes, some evictions are inevitable. But the eviction process is very expensive, and can often drag out for months, even years. Courts already are backlogged, meaning that even routine evictions will take longer than normal. It usually makes more financial sense to work with residents than to evict them. And if tenants leave, or are kicked out, the property owners likely will not be able to collect rental assistance from the government for that tenant, no matter how much they are owed or how good their reason for evicting.

“There’s incentives all the way through this to keep people in housing,” said Bob Pinnegar, president and CEO of the National Apartment Association.

When the eviction moratorium does eventually come to an end, property owners will be reluctant to evict tenants who communicated with them in good faith, worked out payment plans, and applied for government assistance, Pinnegar said. On the other hand, people who “ghosted” their landlords – meaning they stopped paying rent, stopped responding to emails and letters, and actively avoided contact – likely won’t be given the same benefit of the doubt.

“There will be some evictions,” Pinnegar said, “but I think the conversation about millions of people being evicted, and homeless centers being overrun, and people on the streets, it’s a great exaggeration that I think unfortunately is driving public policy.”