Since the start of the pandemic, Jan Remund and her 100-year-old mom have so far been able to make their monthly rent payments on their Bend home.

That’s in part because her daughter-in-law works at the rental company that manages her home and was able to negotiate a lower monthly rental payment.

But Anna Lariza Lopez and her family haven’t been as fortunate. When Gov. Kate Brown shut down restaurants in March, Lopez lost her job at a La Pine food truck. Her husband, a landscaper, is heading into the slow winter months. It’s been a rough ride for the Bend family of three.

The couple ran through their savings to keep up with the bills. They have paid as much of their rent as they can, but in the past couple of months, they’ve gotten behind.

They are like the 1 in 6 Americans who are behind in their rent mostly because of unemployment associated with COVID-19. Had Oregon lawmakers not come together on Monday in a special session, an estimated 70,000 Oregonians stood to lose their unemployment by the end of the month along with protections from foreclosures and evictions.

Lawmakers on Monday convened in a special session approved these protections and extended them until July 1. Landlords were also helped by the session with a measure that includes a $150 million landlord compensation fund and a $50 million tenant based rental assistance program to help with rent payments.

It was a relief on Tuesday to learn that she won’t be evicted, Lopez said.

“This is great news,” Lopez said. “Oh, thank you. I hadn’t heard. My husband and I were just talking about this and how he wasn’t going to get much work now because of the holidays.”

In Central Oregon, there are about 23,400 renters, of which about 20% are behind, said Scott Cooper, NeighborImpact executive director.

The U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey found that 12% of Oregon renters are behind in their rent and 30% are having trouble covering their usual expenses.

Other estimates show that there could have been as many as 27,700 to 56,100 evictions statewide had the legislation not passed, according to the most recent data from Stout Risius Ross, which has been providing local and national updates on the state of renters during COVID-19. Stout estimates that the current rental shortfall in Oregon is between $126 million and $222 million.

Since the start of the pandemic, NeighborImpact has helped about 650 households so far using federal and state programs, Cooper said. They’ve helped cover 1,800 months of rent with federal and state grants. But still, that’s not enough, Cooper said. (You can find help here.)

”We’re left with an enormous gap,” Cooper said. “Our rental assistance programs have run out of money.”

Cooper said that it’s unknown how the federal and state legislative actions will affect tenants in Central Oregon. NeighborImpact will apply for funding from state and federal programs and hopes to receive an additional $4 million to $5 million in assistance to help families.

At the start of the pandemic, unemployment rates soared, recovered a bit but dropped to 6.1% in October, according to Oregon Employment Department data. Many of the jobs lost were caused by temporary closures in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. And many of those were in the hospitality and leisure sector of the economy typically filled by low-wage workers, said Damon Runberg, Oregon Employment Department regional economist.

“Most of these workers are likely renters,” Runberg said. “Early in the pandemic the (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) bolstered unemployment insurance to the point that many of these workers were at or near full-wage replacement. This meant that most workers were able to continue to pay their rent and other household expenses.”

Compounding the issue is how the pandemic has affected families that have lost child care, elder care or just one job out of two.

“The good news is that the end of the pandemic is in view,” said Runberg. “If we can weather the next several months, long-term concern for renters wanes as the job market is expected to make a robust recovery on the heels of widespread access to the various COVID-19 vaccines.”

Under previous versions of the eviction moratorium, renters were given a grace period to pay back some accumulated unpaid rent. With the latest legislation approved by lawmakers on Monday, tenants affected by the pandemic will have protection from eviction until June 30.

“We’re glad the Legislature passed this legislation on Monday,” said Alison McIntosh, a Neighborhood Partnerships, policy and communications director. “The legislation allows for two avenues: The landlord can apply for all their tenants who are behind in their rent or tenants can seek help. We don’t know when the money will be made available, but it will be soon.”

For Remund, the situation caused by COVID-19 is causing additional stress. In addition to working to maintain her mother’s health as her caregiver, she has to juggle their finances and pool their resources.

“It’s difficult coming up with the rent every month because so many things are more expensive now,” Remund said. “If something were to happen to my mom, I’d be sunk. There’s no way I can afford to pay the rent.

“I sit here at night thinking that it could be me being evicted. What the heck would I do?”

In Deschutes County, about 30% of the homes are renter-occupied, and the median rental payment is $1,388, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The legislative action is vital to helping families, said Nicole Stingh, Oregon Housing and Community Services public affairs spokeswoman. Without any assistance, renters face owing thousands in back rent, eviction and possibly bankruptcy.

It’s difficult to know exactly how many people are affected, Stingh said. A study by Portland State University four months into the pandemic showed that 35% of the renters were behind and that more than half of them were people of color or Indigenous, she said. The rent value is about $350 million in missed rent payments, she said.

“The impact will be hard and devastating for each family,” Stingh said. “I feel confident that we have never seen anything of this magnitude and scale before. What we’ve found is that in 2019, more than a quarter of the renters spend more than half their income on rent alone.

“For many households, a loss of income means they can’t pay rent.”

Cooper at NeighborImpact said that once more funds are released he can start to help people on the waitlist seeking assistance.

“We’re seeing panic on the phones increasing,” Cooper said. “People are coming to us telling us the same story: They’re unemployed and dealing with their children and behind on the rent. They’re desperate.”

To qualify for assistance, families of four in Deschutes County cannot earn more than $61,300 per year; in Crook and Jefferson counties it’s $49,100 per year.

“The situation is way worse than people think it is,” Cooper said. “There’s a whole lot of people bracing for a notice from landlords who have been incredibly generous and cooperative working with the renters. “

Lopez said her landlord has been understanding.

“It’s a terrible time,” Lopez said. “It’s not something we expected.”