- State Data Overview
Across Georgia, there is a shortage of rental homes affordable and available to extremely low income households (ELI), whose incomes are at or below the poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income (AMI). Many of these households are severely cost burdened, spending more than half of their income on housing. Severely cost burdened poor households are more likely than other renters to sacrifice other necessities like healthy food and healthcare to pay the rent, and to experience unstable housing situations like evictions.
KeyFacts330,952Or24%Renter households that are extremely low income$25,100Maximum income for 4-person extremely low income household (state level)-195,926Shortage of rental homes affordable and available for extremely low income renters$39,758Annual household income needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home at HUD's Fair Market Rent.73%Percent of extremely low income renter households with severe cost burden - State Level PartnersState Partners
Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc. (Georgia ACT)
250 Georgia Avenue, SE
Suite 350
Atlanta, GA 30312
Bambie Hayes Brown, President and CEO | [email protected]
Become an NLIHC State Partner
NLIHC’s affiliation with our state coalition partners is central to our advocacy efforts. Although our partners' involvement varies, they are all housing and homeless advocacy organizations engaged at the state and federal level. Many are traditional coalitions with a range of members; others are local organizations that serve more informally as NLIHC's point of contact.
Inquire about becoming a state partner by contacting [email protected]
- Housing Trust FundHTF Implementation Information
NLIHC continues working with leaders in each state and the District of Columbia who will mobilize advocates in support of HTF allocation plans that benefit ELI renters to the greatest extent possible. Please contact the point person coordinating with NLIHC in your state (below) to find out about the public participation process and how you can be involved. Email Kyle Arbuckle with any questions.
Current Year HTF Allocation$5,277,949
HTF State Resources2019
Draft Annual Action Plan with HTF Allocation Plan Pages 71-82 (PDF)
HTF Application Instructions and FAQs (PDF)
2018
2018 HTF NOFA (PDF)
2018-2022 Submitted Consolidated Plan with HTF Allocation Plan on pages 160-168 (PDF)
2017
Draft 2018-2022 ConPlan, with 2017 HTF Allocation Plan on page 159 (PDF)
HUD-approved 2017 HTF Allocation Plan (PDF)
Draft HTF Allocation Plan (PDF)
2016
HUD-Approved HTF Allocation (PDF)
NOFA (PDF)
Draft HTF Allocation Plan by Department of Community Affairs dated June 27, 2016 (PDF)
Georgia-specific Model Allocation Plan by NLIHC (PDF)
Recording of Georgia-specific Allocation Plan advocacy webinar presented by NLIHC on March 29(WMV)
Allocation Plan advocacy webinar slides from March 29th presentation by NLIHC (PDF)
NLIHC Point Person for HTF AdvocacyBambie Hayes-Brown
President and CEO
Georgia Advancing Communities Together
William McFarland
Policy Staffer
Georgia Advancing Communities Together
State Designated Entity:Camila Knowles
Executive Director
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
Official Directly Involved with HTF Implementation:Ryan Fleming
Manager of Internal Operations
404-596-2626
[email protected]State Entity Webpage
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
NHTF-specific page
- ResourcesResources
Housing Profiles
State Housing Profile
State Housing Profile: Georgia (PDF)
Congressional District Housing Profile
Congressional District Profile: Georgia (PDF)
Research and Data
National Housing Preservation Database
The National Housing Preservation Database is an address-level inventory of federally assisted rental housing in the United States.
Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing
Out of Reach documents the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing. In Georgia and Nationwide
The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Rental Homes
The Gap represents data on the affordable housing supply and housing cost burdens at the national, state, and metropolitan levels. In Georgia and Nationwide
Other Links - Take Action
- COVID-19 ResourcesCOVID-19 Resources
Rental Assistance
NLIHC has estimated a need for no less than $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and broke down the need and cost for each state (download Excel spreadsheet).
In response to COVID-19 and its economic fallout, many cities and states are creating or expanding rental assistance programs to support individuals and families impacted by the pandemic, and NLIHC is tracking in-depth information on these programs.
You can use the interactive map and searchable database to find state and local emergency rental assistance programs near you. You can also see the latest news on rental assistance programs through the state-by-state news tracker. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all rental assistance programs as we continue to update frequently. If you are aware of a program not included in our database, please contact [email protected].
Shelter Closings
Across the country, homeless service providers are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to follow public health guidelines and help ensure people’s safety, some shelters are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely. The loss of these critical resources puts people experiencing homelessness at even higher risk of illness. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of shelter closings.
Below is a list of shelters that have had to majorly alter services or completely close:
No information at this time.
State and Local News
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that six hours after DeKalb County opened applications for its new $21 million emergency rental assistance program on February 12, more than 2,000 individuals had already applied. The county also received 17,000 website visits, 3,7000 emails, and 350 calls related to the program. A group of court officials, Atlanta Legal Aid, the DeKalb County Marshal’s Office, Goodwill of North Georgia, and mediators from the Dispute Resolution Center are part of a coalition helping administer the relief program.
The Augusta Chronicle reports that thousands of Augusta families have fallen through the cracks of the federal eviction moratorium. The Richmond County Marshal’s Office served 2,357 households with eviction papers during 2020 in every month except April. Augusta-Richmond County Commissioners recently approved over $6 million in federal rental and utility assistance.
Updated on February 22, 2021
Fulton County is developing its plan to distribute the $18 million in rental assistance it has received from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The county plans to launch the rent relief program on March 1. DeKalb County will launch its $21 million rent relief program on Friday, February 12.
Updated on February 17, 2021
WABE discovered that several Georgia judges are refusing to acknowledge the CDC eviction moratorium in court.
Updated on February 08, 2021
As many as 160,000 households across Georgia could be at risk of eviction in January if the CDC eviction moratorium is not extended. Without significant rental relief programs, housing advocates worry that many renters will be left homeless when eviction protections are lifted.
Updated on January 15, 2021
WABE reports that the administration of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is proposing reducing funding for an emergency COVID-19 rental assistance program by half – from $22 million to $11 million. Since the pandemic began, ten thousand eviction notices have been sent in Fulton County.
Updated on December 9, 2020
A group of tenants rallied on October 7 to protest evictions and deplorable living conditions at a DeKalb County complex.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports an extended stay motel company with ties to former Governor Roy Barnes is facing a lawsuit after forcing several long-time residents to move out last month. Activists and former residents protested outside the Efficiency Lodge in DeKalb County as another wave of renters behind on their payments were told to leave. While not explicitly stated in the law, some lawyers argue hotels cannot and should not remove residents without going through the formal court eviction process. Learn more about why extended-stay hotel evictions may not be legal.
October 14, 2020
The Associated Press reports a Georgia property owner is among those suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the federal eviction moratorium.
Updated on October 5, 2020
Nearly a dozen families residing at an extended hotel in DeKalb County were evicted, but the Housing Justice League and DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson report that anyone who has lived at the property longer than 90 days cannot legally be evicted under the federal moratorium. Commissioner Johnson noted that many people, including landlords, do not fully understand the CDC eviction moratorium.
Updated on September 15, 2020
The Georgia Recorder reports that eviction hearings are rising across Georgia after the supplemental unemployment benefit expired at the end of July and the 30 days’ notice of eviction required by the CARES Act ended on August 24.
WABE reports that as federal eviction protections have expired, tenants in metro Atlanta are feeling the effects.
Updated on September 2, 2020.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced on August 20 that the city has allocated $22 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to the Atlanta COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The program is expected to help more than 6,700 Atlanta residents with rental, utility, and/or security deposit assistance. Applications for the rental assistance program are now available at: https://relief.uwga.org/.
Georgia Public Broadcasting “On Second Thought” host Virginia Prescott spoke with housing experts to examine the state’s looming eviction crisis and the long-term impacts it could have on Georgia residents.
Updated on August 25, 2020.
More than 10,000 evictions have been on hold in metro Atlanta during the pandemic, but courts in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, and Cobb counties have either recently resumed landlord-tenant hearings or will resume hearings in the coming days. Fulton, usually considered Georgia’s busiest eviction court, has a backlog of over 9,000 cases and will hold virtual hearings, rather than in-person hearings, until at least November.
Updated on August 19, 2020.
WABE reports that while in Georgia many courts have paused in-person eviction hearings for the time being, thousands of evictions have been filed in Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties since March.
Updated on August 11, 2020.
Crossroads Community Ministries, an organization that operates like a post office for people who are experiencing homelessness and don’t have a permanent address, has continued to provide services throughout the pandemic. The executive director spoke with WABE about the challenges that the organization has encountered due to COVID-19.
Atlanta
The Atlanta City Council approved legislation on June 15, directing millions of dollars in CARES Act funding to support people experiencing homelessness and prevent evictions. City officials are allocating $22 million for rental assistance to prevent evictions and homelessness. An additional $7 million will be allocated to provide care for people experiencing homelessness to mitigate COVID-19 effects. Read the legislation here.
Updated on June 22, 2020.
The city of Atlanta has acquired 250 hotel rooms to house people experiencing homelessness who are either older than 65 or dealing with underlying health conditions. The city is paying $3 million to lease the hotel rooms for three months until August 1, with approximately half of the funding coming from philanthropic dollars and half from emergency funding.
Atlanta has tested more than 2,000 people experiencing homelessness, uncovering approximately 30 new positive cases in shelters. The total number of people experiencing homelessness who have tested positive is at least 55 as of April 20.
Savannah
The Savannah Homeless Authority has partnered with the City of Savannah and Chatham Emergency Management Agency to deliver meals-ready-to-eat, or MRE’s, to the city’s more than 35 homeless camps Thursday morning.
State Level Guidance
No information at this time.
Eviction Update
Federal, state, and local eviction moratoriums are rapidly expiring and the CARES Act supplemental unemployment benefits will end soon; at that time, millions of low-income renters will be at risk of losing their homes. The NLIHC estimates at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance is needed to keep low-income renters stably housed during and after the pandemic. This tracker links to news reports of the growing evictions crisis in various cities and states. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of eviction updates.
The Georgia Recorder reports that eviction hearings are rising across Georgia after the supplemental unemployment benefit expired at the end of July and federal eviction protections expire on August 24. More than 10,000 evictions have been on hold in metro Atlanta during the pandemic, but courts in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, and Cobb counties have either recently resumed landlord-tenant hearings or will resume hearings in the coming days. Fulton, usually considered Georgia’s busiest eviction court, has a backlog of over 9,000 cases and will hold virtual hearings, rather than in-person hearings, until at least November.
Updated on August 28, 2020.
More than 10,000 eviction cases have been on hold in metro Atlanta during the health crisis, but courts in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties resumed landlord-tenant hearings this week. Fulton and Cobb plan to restart next week. Judges generally plan to start with cases that were filed before the pandemic hit but have not yet been ruled on.
Updated: August 12
No statewide order was ever issued. The State Supreme Court had tolled deadlines in pending cases from March 14-July 14 (allowing for local discretion). This extended the time limit tenants and landlords had to respond to eviction cases but did not prevent cases. All proceedings related to evictions have continued throughout the pandemic.
Updated: August 1
In the third week of July, 28.3% of adults in Georgia reported they had missed their previous housing payment or had little confidence they would make their next one on time, according to a weekly survey conducted by the Census. In the same survey, 465,246 renters reported they had not paid their previous rental payment.
Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties 6,000 evictions have been filed across these three counties since the pandemic began in mid-March. Housing advocates are concerned that many tenants did not know their chance to submit a defense in their eviction case and request a hearing (which could delay the process by a few weeks) had been extended from seven days to several months, but that the extra time expired last week. So far, tenants in Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett have submitted letters to request hearings in only one-fifth of those cases.
July 23 Updated: July 29
According to a weekly survey by the Census, 1 in 3 adults in the state either missed their last housing payment or have little/no confidence of being able to make next month’s housing payment.
Fulton County 2,000 eviction cases are pending in Fulton County.
June 19 Updated: July 16
COVID-19 Resources OtherNational Media
What to Know About Housing and Rent During the COVID-19 Emergency? https://tinyurl.com/y74ox85d
Arbor Realty Trust launched an innovative $2 million rental assistance program to help thousands of tenants and families significantly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Arbor is contributing $1 million to the program and participating borrowers will match Arbor's advances to its tenants in need to help fill the rent gap during the hard-hit months of May and June. Together, the partnership program will provide $2 million in relief. https://tinyurl.com/y9r6x9vb