Kushner family's real estate company may get mortgage help even if it can make payments: report

Jared Kushner's family business stands to benefit from a provision in the the coronavirus relief package that allows apartment building owners to halt federal mortgage payments on some properties.

Kushner Companies controls thousands of low- and moderate-income housing units across the country, and some of them are funded through an $800 million federally backed loan they obtained last year, reported Politico.

The COVID-19 relief package allows building owners to temporarily freeze mortgage payments on those types of properties if they promise not to evict tenants who cannot pay their rent, which essentially shifts the burden of housing low-income renters from landlords to taxpayers.

Kushner Companies establishes buildings as a network of individual LLCs, a common practice in real estate, so they could potentially obtain federal aid for some buildings even if they have enough money to pay their mortgage, according to real estate experts.

“Could he take advantage of it? Yes, his company could,” said Shekar Narasimhan, managing partner for the firm Beekman Advisors. “They’re supposed to have deep pockets, but most owners set each building up to an LLC. So in theory, he doesn't have an obligation to write a check.”

The 39-year-old Kushner -- who is both President Donald Trump's senior White House adviser and son-in-law -- does not play a role in managing the company founded in 1985 by his father, but he still holds a stake in the company.