Cedar Rapids Today

One landlord in Cedar Rapids is making sure his tenants who are affected by job loss due to COVID-19 will have one less thing to worry about, The Gazette reports.

Eric Gutschmidt of Gutschmidt Properties informed his tenants that the company would forgive their rent due to job loss or if their hours were cut due to the novel coronavirus, the news agency reported.

"For the indefinite future, if tenants can’t pay rent (because of COVID-19), that is fine," Gutschmidt told the news agency. "We are banding together. This company is not just me. It’s the properties, staff and all of the tenants. It could not exist without all of those components. Without tenants, we are nothing."

The news agency reported that Gutschmidt estimated of the 60 units across 45 properties there were approximately 10% who were already affected by the fallout from coronavirus and that that number could be as much as 30% over the next 90 days. Gutschmidt hopes he will inspire other landlords to do the same for their tenants.

Recently, the Iowa Supreme Court postponed civil cases—which also includes evictions—because of the virus, until May 4. Eviction notices can be filed for processing after the suspension is lifted, the news agency reported.

Laura O'Leary, the president of Landlords of Linn County, told the news agency that rent was not being suspended across the board. She said landlords still had several expenses they needed to continue to pay.

The Affordable Housing Network is working on a 90-day policy to help residents in Cedar Rapids.

"It is important to us to work with tenants who may be impacted by loss of employment or income due to COVID-19 to ensure our residents have options to maintain stable housing during this time," Kim Eiler, the director of the Affordable Housing Network, told the news agency.