Landlord worries about rising rents amid looming end of rental assistance programs
Sep. 24—The Times-Tribune spoke to more than two dozen people from different walks of life as they confront our changing economy. Their stories will be published each day in print and at thetimes-tribune.com/news/pricedout.
Landlord John Cicilioni contemplates the calendar and wonders when rental assistance will finally come to an end.
He worries about the future of many of his tenants — and his company — now that Lackawanna County's Emergency Rental Assistance Program will run out of available funding by the end of this month. The county stopped taking applications for the program Monday.
His business, Regina's Estates LLC of Blakely, named after his late grandmother, owns about 70 buildings containing 140 apartments, mostly in Lackawanna County.
About half of his tenants receive the emergency rental assistance.
Tenants of other landlords will be in the same boat. Not only will rent coverage end, but rents likely will rise and increase higher because of inflation, he said.
"It's going to be difficult for some of the low-income tenants," Cicilioni said. "And when those funds run out, it'll be difficult for landlords because, in turn, I think we're going to see a lot of evictions, a lot of vacancies, because the government help is drying up."
Inflation and supply-chain issues also have caused higher costs for landlords in maintaining apartments and repairing buildings, he said.
He's faced hassles in ordering various items needed for renovations and maintenance, including light fixtures, bathroom vanities, tiles and furnace parts.
What used to be one-stop shopping to buy whatever was needed for a particular job or project now might take several trips to several stores.
"We're losing a lot of man hours in sourcing supplies," Cicilioni said.
Prices also are up. And he can't simply raise rents when tenants already can't afford to pay.
With high groceries and gas prices, rent for some tenants falls "at the bottom of the totem pole" in terms of bill-paying priorities, he said.
Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter.
