The Treasury Department announced $2.8 billion in emergency rental assistance was distributed in September—and more than $10 billion has been paid out since the program began.
The uptick in payouts may be coming at a much-needed time for vulnerable renters, as the nationwide eviction moratorium is officially over and eviction proceedings are ticking up.
But many renters are still waiting for federal assistance funds to help them catch up on late payments. Only 40% of the initial rental aid made available through stimulus legislation has been distributed to the individuals who need it, according to a release from the Treasury Department this week.
How to Get Help If You Need Emergency Rental Assistance
If renters and landlords have not yet applied for assistance to cover rent and utility costs, now is the time to do so.
State and local housing agencies can direct you to application forms or eligibility information. Or, you can search the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau directory of aid programs.
The emergency aid can be used to cover past-due rent and utility bills, along with late fees and internet service. It can also be used for moving expenses, application fees or security deposits if you have to find a new place to live.
The aid can go toward any rent or utility bill since March of 2020, and hotel stays may also be covered.
Many state and local applications for emergency rental assistance initially required documentation from a renter’s landlord. And most programs required that funds be sent directly to the landlord or utility, instead of giving money to the renter and allowing them to catch up on applicable bills.
Those requirements have been relaxed in many places so that applications can be processed more quickly, but pay attention to instructions specific to your area.
When you apply for assistance, have any documentation of your situation on hand for easy reference. That might include copies of bills, letters from your property manager, or legal notices.
Even if you hear your area has given out a large portion of its available rental assistance funding, don’t let that stop you from applying for aid. Many locations are still expecting to receive the remainder of their federal funding for emergency rental assistance, meaning help for renters will continue throughout 2021 and into 2022.
Why Emergency Rental Assistance Has Been So Slow
Initial emergency rental assistance was approved in December 2020, but detailed guidance for distributing the funds wasn’t provided to state and local grantees until February 2021.
“It took time for the rules to get out, but [distribution of funds] had been ramping up in late spring and early summer,” says Doug Ryan, interim vice president for policy at Prosperity Now, a nonprofit seeking financial stability for low- and middle-income populations.
Grantees who signed up to distribute rental assistance funding—states, cities, and tribes—have sent out $10 billion as of Sept. 30, the Treasury Department reported. That’s out of $25 billion allocated for emergency rental assistance (ERA) from the second stimulus package in December 2020.
The report doesn’t include an additional $21.5 billion authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021, which is now being distributed to state and local grantees.
About two million unique households have received funding since January, per Treasury data.
Though much of the authorized rental aid has yet to be spent, distribution of the aid is happening much more quickly than when it began in January 2021.
In January, about $282 million was disbursed, versus about $1.7 billion in July. In August, $2.3 billion was handed out.
Treasury to Begin Reallocating Unspent Aid
To reduce the application backlogs that have delayed distribution of aid, the Treasury urged states and municipalities to rely on self-attestation—a declaration from tenants—to determine need when documentation isn’t readily available.
Emergency rental assistance programs are permitted to use these statements to verify financial hardship, risk of housing instability, and income.
State and local programs may also distribute funds to eligible landlords and utility providers based on estimates of what they’re owed while they work to fulfill documentation requirements. They can provide additional rent payments to landlords who agree to sign on renters who have previously been evicted or experienced homelessness.
Last month, the Treasury provided tools to grantees based on successful aid-disbursement programs, essentially giving states and municipalities templates to follow for processing applications and parceling out aid.
But the pressure is on. Starting in mid-November, the Treasury will begin to reallocate rental assistance funds that haven’t been committed. Although many of the nearly 500 state and local governments working to distribute the funds have accelerated processing applications in the past few months, others have not.
The department said it would try to reallocate funds to communities in the same state where they were initially sent before looking elsewhere.
“Some states may say, ‘We don’t want this money, you can take it back,’” Ryan says. “It’ll get allocated to other states, but that means families in states that haven’t gotten money out [to renters] will be punished.”
"assistance" - Google News
October 27, 2021 at 01:40AM
https://ift.tt/2ZzuaD9
Emergency Rental Assistance Still Available—How To Get Help Paying Your Bills - Forbes
"assistance" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Ne4zX9
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Emergency Rental Assistance Still Available—How To Get Help Paying Your Bills - Forbes"
Post a Comment