New and Updated NLIHC Resources
- Direct-to-Tenant Payment Implementation: Increasing Flexibility and Equity in Emergency Rental Assistance Programs
- The Road Ahead for Low-Income Renters
- ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Affordable Housing Investments (Updated)
National Updates
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on July 28 released an online tool to help renters and landlords impacted by the pandemic find and apply for rent and utility assistance. For information about assistance for renters and landlords, visit the interagency housing assistance portal hosted by the CFPB. Renters can use NLIHC’s searchable database of state and local rental assistance programs to find programs in their area.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on July 23 announced streamlined COVID-19 recovery options to help homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic bring mortgage payments up to date and remain in their homes.
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)
The USICH published a comprehensive step-by-step guide to prevent people at risk of eviction from losing their homes.
Advocacy & Research
The Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program and the American Bar Association in June released a joint report, “Designing for Housing Stability: Best Practices for Court-Based and Court-Adjacent Eviction Prevention and/or Diversion Program.”
Reporting
CNBC reports that the Biden administration is urging state and local officials to move quickly to distribute federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) to tenants in need. Despite calls by the administration and housing advocates to remove barriers to accessing ERA, little more than half of programs allow self-certification. “This is counter to clear direction and guidance from the White House and has the effect of both slowing down the process for everyone and often weeding out some of the lowest-income people most in need,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel.
Bloomberg reports that housing advocates, including NLIHC’s Diane Yentel, called on Congress to extend the federal eviction moratorium during the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis’s hearing on July 27. Diane highlighted that 6.5 million households remain behind on rent and could face eviction when the moratorium expires and pointed to research showing that increased evictions lead to increased spread of and deaths from COVID-19.
With the eviction moratorium set to expire on July 31, NLIHC’s Diane Yentel joined CBS46 to highlight the correlation between vaccination rates and eviction filing rates. Recent research from Eviction Lab shows that among nine major U.S. cities, the communities with the highest rates of eviction filings are the same communities with the lowest rates of vaccination.
Common Dreams reports Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other housing advocates continue to warn that expiration of the federal eviction moratorium on July 31 will have devastating consequences for millions of renters and will threaten public health as COVID-19 cases surge. "The CDC eviction moratorium is a necessary public health measure to lessen spread of [and] deaths from Covid-19," tweeted NLIHC’s Diane Yentel. "The need clearly remains as Delta surges."
Bloomberg reports on new data from the Treasury Department concerning the distribution of federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) and housing advocates’ warnings that jurisdictions are not moving quickly enough to stave off an eviction crisis when the federal eviction moratorium expires.
Pew Charitable Trusts and the Eviction Lab held a webinar with a panel of state and local officials to discuss what can be done to limit evictions when the federal eviction moratorium ends.
State and Local News
Arizona
Researchers with the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience at Arizona State University estimate that 80,000 households in the metro-Phoenix area will be at risk for eviction when the federal eviction moratorium lifts.
Colorado
While Colorado distributed $11.4 million in emergency rental assistance (ERA) in June, thousands of approved households still await payment. A coalition of housing advocates, elected officials, and organizations sent a letter to Governor Jared Polis on July 26 urging him to slow the eviction process for people who have been approved for ERA but are waiting for payments.
Georgia
NPR reports that DeKalb County’s emergency rental assistance (ERA) program caps payments for back rent at 60%, leaving many renters who are approved for ERA at risk of eviction because they remain behind on their rent, often causing the landlord to reject the ERA offer. NLIHC Senior Research Analyst Rebecca Yae says that capping payments at 60% is far too restrictive: “Of all the other programs that I've seen, this is definitely one of the more shocking ones,” says Yae. “This is extremely low, unfathomable; they really should be paying the full back rent,"
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium could unleash a wave of pent-up evictions around Atlanta. Struggling tenants and advocates in Cobb County are calling on officials to do more to help keep renters housed. Activists say evictions are on the rise at Cobb County properties that accept housing vouchers.
Iowa
Rental assistance programs in Iowa are bracing for a spike in eviction filings in August after the CDC eviction moratorium ends. As of the week of July 19, Iowa had only distributed $7 million of the nearly $200 million it received in federal emergency rental assistance. A separate Polk County program has distributed more than twice as much money to renters as the statewide program meant to serve all 99 counties.
Maryland
Maryland Matters reports new data from the Treasury Department indicating that Maryland and other states lag in distributing emergency rental assistance (ERA) to struggling tenants. Of the $258 million Maryland received as part of ERA1, the state distributed roughly $200,000 in May and $2.8 million in June. Prince George’s County has so far outpaced other jurisdictions in distributing ERA funds.
Massachusetts
Renters and social service organizations in Fall River are bracing for a flood of evictions given the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium on July 31. According to court data, landlords in Bristol County have filed 1,363 eviction cases since October, when the state eviction ban was lifted. Judges in Bristol County have already issued 549 executions, more than in any other county in the state.
Nevada
The Las Vegas Review-Journal outlines steps legal experts and community leaders say Nevadans should take to protect themselves if they face eviction.
New Hampshire
As expiration of the federal eviction moratorium loomed, the New Hampshire Circuit Court worked to promote the New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program. To spread awareness of the rental assistance program, circuit court officials plan to change court forms to include program information, distribute information flyers, post information in courtrooms, and update information on the court’s website. New Hampshire residents in need of legal aid can visit https://nhlegalaid.org/get-help or call 1-800-639-5290.
New York
The New York Times reports that New York City on July 26 resumed the process of moving thousands of people experiencing homelessness from hotel rooms back to congregate shelters. The city’s actions come amid growing concerns that coronavirus cases quadrupled citywide and over objections from advocates for people experiencing homelessness. The city resumed the transfers on the same day Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered city workers to get vaccinated or tested weekly because “the Delta variant is deadly.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on July 26 a new “streamlined” application process for New York’s rent relief program, which will relax documentation requirements for tenants and landlords. Governor Cuomo’s announcement comes as New York has faced bipartisan criticism for the lack of rental assistance it has distributed.
Oklahoma
Thousands of Oklahomans will be at risk for eviction with the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium. According to Open Justice Oklahoma, of the 37,640 evictions filed in Oklahoma since the pandemic began, 15,262 were granted as of July 21. Nearly 29% of those were in Tulsa County.
Utah
At the beginning of July, tens of thousands of Utah renters feared eviction while over a hundred million dollars in federal rental assistance remained unspent. Fox 13 breaks down the latest results from the Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey on Utah renter households.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Radio reports evictions are likely to spike across Wisconsin given the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium. Eviction filings have increased 31% in the last month, and state officials expect that trend to continue.
Guidance
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- CFPB’s Rental Assistance Finder – Launched July 28, 2021
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- HUD Emergency Housing Vouchers: Frequently Asked Questions, Version 4 – Updated July 13, 2021 (see NLIHC Memo, 7/26)
- COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Emergency Housing Vouchers and Coordinated Entry Reporting – July 2021
- HOME-ARP and Project Homekey Overview 7/13 Webinar Materials – July 2021