Reporting
The Associated Press has reported that a growing number of landlords are accepting federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) to cover back rent while still moving to evict tenants. The article cites NLIHC’s tenant protections research, which found that only 29 states and localities in 2021 had adopted policies prohibiting landlords who receive ERA from evicting tenants for a period of time. According to NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel, who is quoted in the article, the situation is illustrative of a larger problem. “We are in the middle of a severe affordable housing crisis with gaping holes in our social safety net,” she explains. “We have a systemic power imbalance that favors landlords at the expense of low-income tenants. Emergency rental assistance and eviction moratoriums were a temporary patch for those holes.”
State and Local News
Alabama
The Huntsville City Council voted to approve a much-needed second round of federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) on February 10. The council approved $4.7 million, which will be distributed by both public and private sources. The city has exhausted its first allocation of $6 million in ERA.
Connecticut
After Connecticut’s eviction moratorium expired on September 30, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont enacted an order requiring landlords to apply for UniteCT emergency rental assistance (ERA) before filing nonpayment eviction cases and to provide 30-day notices for most types of evictions. However, Governor Lamont’s eviction protections expired on February 15. The CT Examiner highlights a new report on Connecticut’s eviction crisis and calls attention to the long-term impacts of eviction filings on the ability of renters to obtain future housing.
Florida
The Orlando Sentinel reports that more than $40 million of federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) remains available in Central Florida through local programs. More than 12,000 households in the region have received payments from local ERA programs, but many more households remain in need of assistance.
Indiana
The City of Fort Wayne announced on February 11 that the city’s emergency rental assistance (ERA) program would reopen on Monday, February 21. Fort Wayne, which has distributed more than $13.6 million in ERA, received an additional $6.3 million for its ERA program.
Massachusetts
Nearly 60% of emergency rental assistance (ERA) applications submitted to Massachusetts’s statewide ERA program have not yet been approved. Of the over 151,000 applications submitted between November 2020 and January 2022, 58,525 were approved and 1,107 were denied by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, leaving about 91,000 applications unapproved. Tens of thousands of applications may have “timed out” because of language barriers, missing documentation, or human error.
Nebraska
Housing advocates are urging Governor Pete Ricketts to apply for $120 million in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA), arguing that Nebraskans are in desperate need of the funding. Nebraska is one of only two states to reject the federal rent relief funds. State Senator Matt Hansen recently introduced legislation that would force the state to apply for ERA.
North Carolina
In a recent article, the Charlotte Observer highlights potential efforts to make Mecklenburg County’s emergency rent relief program permanent. The county will reopen applications for its emergency rental assistance (ERA) program on March 1 after receiving an additional round of federal funding, but advocates worry about what will happen when the funds run out. Motivated by the understanding that housing instability is an entrenched problem, DreamKey Partners, the nonprofit administering the county’s ERA program, is working to pivot the focus of the program “from emergency to sustainability.”
Texas
Texas Housers released the first edition of its “Last Month in Texas Evictions” newsletter. The newsletter will highlight the most important eviction updates every month.
Washington
The Seattle Times reports that Seattle’s eviction moratorium will be extended through the end of February and will then be allowed to expire. In addition to announcing a final two-month extension of the moratorium, Mayor Bruce Harrell directed the city’s Office of Housing to distribute $25 million to renters and small landlords to supplement the emergency rental assistance being distributed by King County.
With thousands of renters still awaiting help and federal funds running out, King County will stop accepting emergency rental assistance (ERA) applications after February 28. The county expects about 7,000-8,000 tenants will be left without assistance after the ERA funds are spent.
Guidance
Department of Housing and Urban Development
National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH)
Exploring the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 Emergency Housing Resources – January 2022
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