Rental Arrears Trending Downward In Horry County: Analysis

MYRTLE BEACH, SC — Around 6.3 million rental households nationwide could face eviction in the near future, despite the availability of extensive government funding for rental assistance.

More than 1 out of every 10 Horry County rental households were in arrears as of early August, according to a new county-by-county analysis by Surgo Ventures, a nonprofit organization that uses data to analyze health and social problems in communities. An estimated 5,944 (16.1 percent) rental households are in danger of eviction.

The estimated number of households in arrears has gone down since July, when around 7,865 were behind.

Delinquent Horry County households collectively owed $19,425,995 in back rent as of early August, according to Surgo Ventures' estimates, for an average of $3,298 each.

South Carolina and Horry County roughly align when it comes to the percentage of renters who are behind. About 17 percent of South Carolina renters are in arrears.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal eviction moratorium extension from President Joe Biden's administration in late August. The moratorium was first put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September 2020.

More than $46 billion in emergency rental aid (ERA) has been approved by Congress, but it's taking a long time to be disbursed to tenants and landlords.

“ERA programs are up and running for the large part, but they are slow to get money into the hands of renters,” Surgo Ventures senior research scientist Aaron Dibner-Dunlap told Patch.

About $1.7 billion in rental assistance was disbursed in July, but it hasn't had much of an effect on rental arrear rates, according to the latest Surgo Ventures analysis.

"You had a sort of limited ability to process incoming applications, and the burden on the applicant was and still continues to be high,” Dibner-Dunlap said.

The U.S. Treasury Department updated its guidance to states and local governments with a list of best practices from across the country. The department encouraged self-verification of information instead of having landlords or tenants gather burdensome amounts of documentation.

Some states and local governments have made eviction diversion programs mandatory before an eviction goes through. Among them are state of Massachusetts and city of Philadelphia.

The end of federal unemployment benefits in early September could put more people behind on rent as well, Dibner-Dunlap said.

“It stands to reason more people could fall behind on rent before they can recover," he said.

Editor’s note: This post was automatically generated using data from Surgo Ventures. Surgo Ventures estimates the Horry County rental arrears rate is between 12.8 and 19.4 percent at 95 percent confidence. Feedback can be sent to content@patch.com.