Methodology
The NMHC Rent Payment Tracker is a cumulative data tool. Approximately every other week, the PMS providers submit two data points to NMHC: the percentage of apartment households that paid their rent for a specific time period and the total number of occupied units in their data universe.
Data is submitted on the following schedule: week one: from the first day of the month through COB on the 6th and from the 1st through the last day of the month, giving us a monthly data point for the “percent who paid”. To recap, the “percent who paid” number will increase each week, until we reach our final “percent who paid” number for the month (see below for how partial rent payments are addressed).
When establishing the initial dates for the Rent Payment Tracker, NMHC wanted to track when rent was officially "late" and used the close of business on the 5th as that date. After consultation with property managers and data providers we were informed that a variety of dates are used to determine when rent is considered late, with some saying rent isn't late until as late as the 10th. In addition, those that use the 5th as their deadline reported that many people pay on the last day possible and that some of those payments aren't posted until the 6th. Based on this information, NMHC adjusted its methodology to make the close of business on the 6th the deadline for the first week. Moving this date also moved all other reporting dates by one day.
| Release Date | Number of Units | NMHC Press Release |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 8, 2021 | 11.8 million | Press Release - Dec. 8 |
| Nov. 8, 2021 | 11.8 million | Press Release - Nov. 9 |
| Oct. 8, 2021 | 11.8 million | Press Release - Oct. 8 |