The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released a report in October 2023 examining how three programs established through the “American Rescue Plan Act” (ARPA) – Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA), State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF), and the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) – are being used to support housing stability and expand the supply of affordable housing. The report, Treasury Recovery Programs: Supporting Housing Stability and Supply, highlights examples of how communities are using program funds to develop new affordable housing and provide emergency shelter, wraparound services, and rent and utility relief.
The guide spotlights best practices and addresses how program administrators and governments can braid ARPA funds with other federal, state, and local resources to invest in affordable housing. Communities across the country have layered SLFRF with ERA to maintain housing stability and eviction prevention initiatives created during the pandemic and to strengthen longer-term housing stability programs. New Jersey, for example, spent over $800 million in ERA funds and committed an additional $790 million in SLFRF to provide financial assistance and housing stability services to help households avoid eviction. In addition to spending over $71 million in ERA to provide rent and utility assistance, the City of Louisville, Kentucky, used ERA and general funds to enact a right-to-counsel program for tenants with children and establish a rapid rehousing program to help renters who “self-evict.”
In the report, Treasury describes how various states, cities, counties, and tribes have used ERA and SLFRF to expand and preserve the supply of affordable housing. The report highlights a decision by Massachusetts to combine SLFRF with Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), HUD project-based rental assistance, and additional funding sources to preserve and develop two affordable housing properties. The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska is using SLFRF to address housing shortages and overcrowding, and St. Petersburg, Florida, will use ERA and SLFRF to construct a 75-unit affordable housing development.
Treasury encourages state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to identify opportunities to braid funding sources to address all stages of the housing continuum, including providing emergency assistance to keep families housed and investing in affordable housing infrastructure.
Read the report at: https://tinyurl.com/5fafwhk5