National Updates
Department of the Treasury
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released demographic data on February 24 showing that funds delivered to millions of households through its Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program are reaching underserved and vulnerable communities. According to reporting data, over 80% of ERA assistance was delivered to very low-income households. In the fourth quarter of 2021, more than 40% of all primary applicants receiving assistance self-identified as Black and more than 20% self-identified as Latino, and female-headed households made up close to two-thirds of ERA beneficiaries. Read Treasury’s press release, learn more about ERA quarterly demographic data, and access monthly ERA spending through December 2021. Also read Memo, 2/28, for NLIHC’s analysis of the latest ERA data from Treasury.
Treasury released updated Compliance and Reporting Guidance for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) Program on February 28. Treasury’s final rule provides greater flexibility and simplicity for recipients using SLFRF funds. Recipients will now report on a broader set of eligible uses and associated Expenditure Categories (ECs), starting with the April 2022 Project and Expenditure Report. The ECs for several housing-related SLFRF uses have changed. Appendix 1 includes the new ECs, as well as a reference to previous ECs used for reporting under the interim final rule.
Advocacy & Research
The National Consumer Law Center published a short report updating Massachusetts’s residential utility arrearage data through December 2021. Overall, while the position of utility customers has somewhat improved compared to the summer of 2021, residential customers ended 2021 still owing about $100 million more in utilities than they did at the start of the pandemic.
The New Jersey State Policy Lab at Rutgers University released a report, The New Jersey Housing Crisis in a COVID Era: Mapping Strategic Processes. The report examines strategic development and organizational learning processes in five New Jersey municipalities that provide emergency rental assistance: Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, and Trenton.
Reporting
The Associated Press reports on new data released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury showing that more than 80% of the billions of dollars in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) was delivered to low-income tenants. The data found that the largest percentage of tenants receiving ERA were Black households, followed by female-led households. “Our collective efforts to ensure these funds reach the lowest-income and most marginalized people are clearly working,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel. “Renters who received assistance were predominantly very low- and extremely low-income and disproportionately people of color.”
CBS News likewise highlights the new ERA data released by Treasury. While more than half of the federal rental assistance has been spent or obligated – and data show ERA is helping low-income families – Treasury acknowledges that more work is still to be done, as billions of dollars remain available. Some state and local officials in need of additional ERA have requested reallocated funds, but Treasury is warning officials that the second round of reallocated funds will be smaller than the first round. The department is urging officials to use other resources, including Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, to provide rental assistance.
Reuters also reports on Treasury’s announcement that its ERA program spent or obligated more than $25 billion in 2021 to help renters stay in their homes, with over 80% of the total going to very low-income households. Treasury released demographic data on the ERA program for the first time, saying that during the fourth quarter of 2021, more than 40% of primary applicants receiving aid self-identified as Black, and more than 20% as Latino.
State and Local News
Alabama
The U.S. Department of the Treasury in February recaptured $42 million of Alabama’s $263 million allocation of federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) due to the state’s failure to meet federal expenditure deadlines. State officials anticipate that another $30 million of ERA funds will be recaptured and reallocated in March, leaving an estimated $92 million in Alabama’s state fund.
Arizona
The Arizona Republic reports that Arizona voluntarily redistributed $88 million in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds to other jurisdictions across the state that had spent their first round of ERA funding and needed additional funds. State officials said they had recognized that the amount of ERA allocated to Arizona was more than what was needed to help Arizona’s rural renters and had chosen to voluntarily redistribute the excess funds to Maricopa County, Chandler, Glendale, Mesa, Pima County, and Tucson.
The City of Tucson and Pima County received $22 million in reallocated ERA funds that were recaptured from the state and redistributed to several municipalities. Pima County and Tucson work together to administer the Eviction Prevention/Rental Assistance and Utility Relief Program, which has already delivered more than $50 million in rental assistance and nearly $5 million in utility aid.
Arkansas
The U.S. Department of the Treasury recaptured $23 million in emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds from the state of Arkansas and reallocated the money to Benton and Washington counties. The two counties have already distributed a cumulative $27 million in federal ERA funds and have a sizable population in need of additional assistance. Critics of the reallocation decision, such as Representative French Hill (R-AR), argue that recapturing ERA from rural communities overlooks the acute housing needs in those communities.
California
Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement on March 1 noting that continued federal support from FEMA will allow California to extend Project Roomkey to get more people off the streets and into non-congregate shelter. President Biden announced on March 1 that FEMA will continue to provide 100% reimbursement for the costs of approved non-congregate sheltering in hotel and motels across the country through July 1, 2022. Since the start of the pandemic, California has provided shelter for more than 50,000 individuals experiencing homelessness through Project Roomkey.
Connecticut
Connecticut’s statewide emergency rental assistance program, UniteCT, stopped accepting new rental and utility assistance applications and re-certifications. The program is giving landlords and tenants who already have case numbers until March 31 to complete their applications.
Florida
Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa have received $28 million in additional federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds. Applications for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program opened on March 1.
Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that DeKalb County has received an additional $25 million to provide emergency rental assistance (ERA), an influx of dollars born of Georgia’s inability to distribute its own allocation of federal ERA funds. Local officials have not decided whether the county will reopen applications for its Tenant-Landlord Assistance Coalition, but the new funds will help address the approximately 2,500 pending applications.
Indiana
WBOI reports that the Indiana Senate passed legislation (H.B.1214) on March 1 that would seal eviction filings in certain instances, including when there is no action on an eviction case after 180 days from the initial filing; when an eviction filing is resolved outside of court; and when a judgment is entered in favor of a tenant. The bill provides tenants avenues for sealing eviction filings but also allows landlords to start applications for emergency rental assistance. Andrew Bradley of Prosperity Indiana, an NLIHC state partner, says the legislation is an important first step toward tackling the ‘Scarlet E’ but that it does not address the causes that have led Indiana to have the highest rate of evictions in the Midwest. “It’s not like this problem is behind us. We may not yet have seen the peak of Indiana’s pandemic-related housing crisis because it tends to be a lagging indicator,” said Bradley.
Iowa
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) on February 25 approved the reallocation of $35 million in federal rent relief funds from the State of Iowa to Polk County. The county had been forced to stop accepting new allocations for its emergency rental assistance (ERA) program due to a lack of funds, despite the fact that both Polk County and the state supported reallocating the $35 million in unused funds. Representative Cindy Axne (D-IA) sent a letter to Treasury on February 16 urging the department to approve the request quickly.
Minnesota
A nonprofit organization in Brooklyn Park is urging Minnesota lawmakers to pass emergency funds to keep RentHelpMN up and running. African, Career, Education, and Resource (ACER) Inc., which contracted with the state Housing Finance Agency to distribute rent relief, says there is an urgent need for more funds. ACER, the Housing Justice Center, and the Minnesota Housing Partnership are among those calling on lawmakers to extend the program until at least June 1 – the date when eviction protections for tenants with pending ERA applications will end.
Mississippi
After a slow start last year, the Mississippi statewide emergency rental assistance (ERA) program has increased the amount of aid distributed to tenants and landlords. According to Mississippi Today, officials attribute the increase to several programmatic changes, including allowing tenants to apply without income documentation, partnering with housing counseling agencies and community leaders, and expanding outreach efforts, among others. As of January 31, the state has obligated $110.3 million in ERA.
Missouri
The Kansas City Council approved an ordinance appropriating $25 million in COVID-19-relief funding for the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program, the largest allocation of funds since the program launched in 2021.
Ohio
Ohio may forfeit more than $100 million in unused federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds. A spokesman for the Ohio Department of Development, which oversaw the distribution of ERA, said efforts to improve the ERA program have accelerated the distribution of funds in recent months, but Ohio risks losing $104 million in ERA funds if it cannot reallocate the remaining dollars to counties.
Oregon
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has paid out over $289 million in aid to more than 40,000 households a month earlier than expected through the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program (OERAP). OHCS is dedicating additional resources to tenants applying for OERAP on top of the $100 million allocated by the Oregon legislature and the $1.1 million in reallocated funds awarded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to OHCS in late December 2021. OHCS continues to advocate for additional reallocated federal funds.
Pennsylvania
Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh announced on March 1 that the joint Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) is winding down, with the last payments going out in May. The cutoff date for new applications is March 31. Officials are seeking additional funding for the program, which will remain in place in case more funds become available. The end of ERAP is likely to have a profound impact on the number of cases that come before Allegheny County Housing Court.
The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania released a new report, Revealing Opportunities and Challenges: An Analysis of Eviction Filings in Pennsylvania, finding that local programs, eviction protections, and economic assistance programs have reduced the overall number of eviction filings over the past two years. Read the full report and the executive summary. Explore local data through interactive plots in the web version of the report.
Axios reports that Philadelphia received $8.3 million in emergency rental assistance (ERA) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and an additional $9 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. While the funds will not cover all who need rent relief, they will help nearly 3,300 households whose applications have already been approved.
South Carolina
Charleston County’s emergency rental assistance (ERA) program is set to reopen applications on March 1 after being suspended in October 2021 due to a lack of funds. The Charleston County Library System is helping those who need assistance filling out ERA application.
The Community Resource Center extended the deadline for people to apply for rental assistance through the SC Stay Plus program. Residents of Colleton or Dorchester County now have until March 11 to sign up for the SC Stay Plus program.
Texas
The Bexar County Commissioners approved a transfer of $3.4 million in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds on February 22, bringing the total contributions by the county and the City of San Antonio to the program to $181 million. San Antonio distributes ERA from the program to both city and county residents.
Travis County residents can now apply to receive rent and mortgage assistance through the county’s general fund and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. The $9.1 million in rent and mortgage assistance is funded through Travis County’s general fund and its allocation of federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, not the U.S Department of the Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance program.
Washington
An organization distributing federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds in Snohomish County stopped accepting new applications on March 1 because thousands of people whose applications have been approved are still waiting to receive the program’s dwindling funds.
Guidance
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- HUD Office of Public and Indian Housing: Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) Frequently Asked Questions, v.8 – February 23, 2022 (see Memo, 2/28)
- COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Program Transfer Considerations for Households in ESG-CV Rapid Rehousing Programs – March 2022
- COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Maximizing Federal Resources to House America – March 2022
- COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Qualitative Data 101 – March 2022