National Updates
HUD
The Federal Housing Administration announced on June 17 a two-month extension of its foreclosure and eviction moratorium through August 31, 2020, for homeowners with FHA-insured single family mortgages.
HUD awarded $40 million in grants to help more than one million individuals and families access HUD-approved housing counseling.
Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA)
FHFA announced on June 17 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend their single-family moratoriums on foreclosures and evictions until at least August 31, 2020.
FHFA announced on June 16 that translated COVID-19 resources are now available in six languages. COVID-19 Servicing Scripts and the Mortgage Assistance Application are available in English, Spanish, traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, or Tagalog.
Department of Treasury
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued a statement on June 12 regarding the provision of Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to Native American Tribes.
Advocacy
The NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition continues to advocate a broad array of resources and protections, including emergency rental assistance and eviction prevention assistance, a national moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and emergency funds for homelessness service providers, housing authorities, and housing providers, among other recommendations. For more information, see DHRC’s full list of recommendations.
A new Urban Institute report estimates that $16 billion is needed each month to support renters to remain stably housed during the coronavirus crisis. The report suggests that Congress replace or complement existing unemployment assistance with rental assistance, which would help renters who experienced cost burdens prior to and as a result of COVID-19.
Reporting
NBC News reports that some landlords are using threats and harassment (or “self-help” tactics) to force tenants out of their homes during the coronavirus pandemic. While data have not yet emerged on renters facing self-help evictions during COVID-19, according to National Fair Housing Alliance President and CEO Lisa Rice, even when there is no pandemic, people of color and single-women households are more likely to face these forms of abusive evictions.
Tenant advocates report that some landlords’ rent-collection practices across the Washington DC region during COVID-19 have included aggressive bullying tactics. Advocates are concerned about a deluge of evictions once courts reopen.
A new report found that the coronavirus has exacerbated food and housing insecurity among students in higher education, with nearly three in five college students experiencing some type of basic-needs insecurity during the pandemic. The study also found significant racial disparities: while about half of white students experienced at least one kind of basic-needs insecurity during COVID-19, 71% of Black students and 65% of Latino students did.
An article in the Washington Post examines how the coronavirus pandemic may further widen racial disparities in housing, highlighting a new Urban Institute report that analyzes how economic crises and sudden disasters increase racial disparities in homeownership.
While the pandemic has prompted most states and federal officials to establish eviction moratoriums, some tenants who are unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 are experiencing harassment and threats of eviction.
A letter to the editor of the Boston Globe calls housing an issue of racial and economic justice, identifying housing policies that stand in the way of racial equity. “If we truly believe that Black Lives Matter, we cannot ignore our fight for housing for all,” said Beyazmin Jimenez.
State and Local News
A list of state and local emergency rental assistance programs is available here from NLIHC.
Alaska
A letter to the editor in the Anchorage Daily News discusses the urgent need for Congress to enact a coronavirus relief bill that includes at least $100 billion for emergency rental assistance and a national eviction moratorium.
California
The California Legislature is expected to vote on a bill this week that would commit $2 billion each year to combat homelessness. Democratic lawmakers argue that this work has never been more urgent, given the pandemic’s impact on people experiencing homelessness.
The National Health Foundation has partnered with Project Roomkey to provide temporary housing and support services to people experiencing homelessness who suffer from medical conditions. Residents receive medical care, medications, meals, and case management to help them find permanent housing.
A makeshift trailer park to provide shelter to seniors experiencing homelessness in San Jose is being dismantled just one month after being opened. A San Jose Housing Department official said that accessibility issues and recurring sewage and electrical emergencies made the project difficult, and that the city opted instead to house elderly adults experiencing homelessness in hotels.
Contra Costa County officials hope that several of the six hotels and motels the county has leased to provide temporary shelter to people experiencing homelessness will eventually be purchased for permanent housing. While it would be more efficient to purchase existing buildings for permanent housing rather than construct new facilities, an official said that there is no current funding mechanism for purchases of the leased sites.
The San Diego Housing Authority unanimously voted on June 16 to approve the San Diego Housing Commission’s fiscal year 2021 budget, which includes $19 million to purchase hotels and $10 million to house people experiencing homelessness in those properties.
San Francisco reached a deal with the group of Tenderloin residents and business owners that sued the city in federal court last month. The settlement requires San Francisco to remove 70% of the tents crowding Tenderloin’s sidewalks and to provide temporary housing in vacant hotel rooms or sanctioned encampments.
Homeful Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is partnering with the Pfizer Foundation and the state of California to provide RV trailers for families experiencing homelessness in three counties throughout California.
Connecticut
The City of New Haven announced on June 15 that Columbus House, in partnership with the Greater New Haven Coordinated Access Network, has housed more than 100 people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. “What COVID-19 has shown us is a reminder that housing is health care. If people are housed, they are safer, and our community is safer. We must not forget this when the pandemic is over,” said Cathleen Meaden, director of housing services at Columbus House.
Delaware
An opinion piece in Delaware Online makes the case that civil legal aid should be part of Delaware’s front-line response to preventing eviction, domestic violence, and poverty during the public health and economic crises. The authors argue that legal representation for tenants reduces homelessness.
Georgia
The Atlanta City Council approved legislation on June 15 directing millions of dollars in CARES Act funding to prevent evictions and support people experiencing homelessness. 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.
Hawaii
A Star Advertiser editorial urges officials to use available federal resources from the CARES Act to address Hawaii’s homelessness needs, stating, “It’s now the duty of state and local lawmakers and officials to deliver this funding where it’s urgently needed. At this point in time, keeping more families housed is central to any rational pandemic recovery strategy.”
Indiana
Indianapolis approved $15 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) dollars for rental assistance. Any Indianapolis resident, regardless of status, can apply for assistance back rent to April 1 or forward rent, for a total of 90 days. The city also allocated $1.8 million in CRF funds for hotel housing to de-congregate shelters and $398,275 in FEMA funds for “at-risk homeless hotel housing.”
Iowa
The Ames City Council approved the use of $354,515 in Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds to provide rental and utility assistance. Rental assistance will be capped at three months and cannot exceed a total of $3,000.
Kentucky
Housing advocates, tenants, and experts are concerned about a surge of evictions after the Kentucky Supreme Court rescinded the state’s eviction moratorium, which was initially set to expire July 1, and announced that evictions for issues other than nonpayment could begin being filed on June 1.
The Louisville Metro Government proposed allocating $21.2 million in federal CARES Act funding to provide rental assistance to an estimated 6,075 households for three months. Under the proposed plan, the rental assistance would be provided through a tenant-based application and a new process in which landlords of federally subsidized units could apply directly on behalf of their tenants.
Louisiana
HousingNOLA, an NLIHC state partner, announced the launch of a COVID-19 Short-Term Rental Pilot Program, which provides temporary housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity amid the pandemic. “It’s been heartening and tremendously impressive to see all the ways our partners are stepping into this challenging time with programs to keep people stably housed and provide supportive services,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel.
Massachusetts
According to a new poll, many renters in Massachusetts are struggling to afford monthly rent payments. Experts and housing advocates worry that as the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums expire, Massachusetts faces a new housing crisis that will disproportionately impact economically distressed areas and populations.
According to a re-housing manager for an adult emergency homeless shelter in Quincy, COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenge of finding housing for adults experiencing homelessness. The pandemic has also highlighted why Massachusetts must take dramatic efforts to address homelessness.
Michigan
In a Michigan Advance article, Eric Hufnagel, executive director of Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness, an NLIHC state partner, discussed the urgent need for Congress to pass the HEROES Act. The article also references House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) comments on NLIHC’s national call, as well as NLIHC’s policy priorities.
In Kalamazoo, early 180 people experiencing homelessness who were temporarily staying in hotels during the pandemic will be moved. This decision comes before the June 30 close of the Emergency Relief Shelter Project that shelters Kalamazoo’s hotel programs. Kalamazoo County Health officer Jim Rutherford said that the low rate of positive COVID-19 tests among people experiencing homelessness is an encouraging sign for reintegrating families back into a shelter.
Minnesota
Olmsted County is preparing 30 single-occupancy rooms to house people experiencing homelessness as the county will close its nightly shelter at Mayo Civic Center. The county will reserve the thirty rooms for people experiencing homelessness who are “willing to work with county staff to meet established goals.”
Missouri
The Springfield City Council passed a bill on June 15 that allocated nearly $1 million in federal CARES Act funding, with $383,000 for affordable housing assistance, including $183,000 in Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds and $200,000 in existing HOME Grant funds. The city council also allocated $330,038 for services for people experiencing homelessness and homeless prevention and $403,100 for forgivable business loans.
Two motels and one hotel in St. Louis have been converted into temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. The city is paying for approximately 200 rooms and providing 24/7 security. An official from the St. Louis mayor’s office reported that these efforts will cost approximately $800,000 through June. The city hopes to be reimbursed by the federal government.
Nevada
The Isolation/Quarantine Complex for people experiencing homelessness at the Cashman Center will close at the end of June. Since the complex opened in April, 234 people have stayed there to quarantine, and a total of 20 residents who tested positive for the coronavirus recovered at the facility. After the complex closes, Clark County will work to find housing and care at county-funded facilities for medically fragile people experiencing homelessness.
New York
New Yorkers staying in shelter face disproportionately high mortality rates during the pandemic, according to a recent report by Coalition for the Homeless, an NLIHC state partner. As of June 1, the overall New York City mortality rate due to COVID-19 was 200 deaths per 100,000 people. For New Yorkers residing in shelters, it was 321 deaths per 100,000 people, 61% higher than the overall rate. An article in Curbed New York discusses the Coalition’s findings.
Advocates are calling for more transparency about coronavirus cases in New York City shelters. New York City’s Department of Homeless Services has not disclosed the number of coronavirus infections and deaths for specific shelters. It has provided only information about the entire shelter system, leaving shelter workers and residents in a state of anxiety and fear.
An opinion piece in City Limits argues that the purpose of the New York City housing court, one of the busiest courts in the United States, is antithetical to the mitigation of COVID-19. Reopening housing courts will lead to evictions that disproportionately harm low-income minority communities and increase the risk of coronavirus exposure to tenants, court workers, and attorneys.
Funding for a temporary program that provides hotel rooms for people released from city jails during the pandemic will expire at the end of June. Advocates are calling on New York City officials to replenish re-entry housing funds that help people recently released from jails and prisons and people experiencing homelessness who experience housing discrimination.
North Carolina
Supportive Housing Communities, an Mecklenburg County organization that provides affordable housing and support services to people experiencing homelessness, has provided rent and utility assistance for 31 households and mental health counseling for 18 households since the beginning of the pandemic.
Ohio
A Columbus Business First article discussed the role of housing in Central Ohio’s battle with inequality. “A lot of the racial inequality we’re seeing now is related to economic inequality. Minority communities are more likely to experience housing inequality and disproportionately more likely to be in low-wage industries hardest-hit by the pandemic. These injustices are at the heart of the unrest we’re seeing across the nation,” said Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, an NLIHC state partner.
Oregon
Housing and homelessness advocates in Oregon are urging lawmakers and Governor Kate Brown to provide rental assistance to prevent a wave of evictions when the state’s eviction moratorium expires June 30.
Pennsylvania
LGBTQ organizations in Pittsburgh have experienced a surge in need due to COVID-19 and the economic fallout. A board member of Proud Haven, an LGBTQ-serving nonprofit organization in Pittsburgh, said that the number of LGBTQ youth needing emergency shelter has doubled during the pandemic.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island advocates are concerned about a rise in evictions and homelessness as a result of COVID-19, noting that the demand for rental assistance is far exceeding the supply. While the looming housing crisis is a threat to the entire state, it is also a reminder that disasters have a disparate impact on certain groups. “COVID is far from being the greater equalizer. It’s exacerbated so many inequalities and disparities, and that comes through in stark light when you look at access to basic, secure affordable housing,” said Kristina Contreras Fox of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, an NLIHC state partner.
Governor Gina Raimondo announced that Rhode Island will allocate $500,000 to provide financial incentives for landlords to rent to people experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. Landlords will receive a $2,000 signing bonus for the first unit they rent to people experiencing homelessness and $500 for each additional unit.
South Carolina
Spartanburg County will receive $919,036 in Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds. The Upstate Family Resource Center, one of 14 agencies in the county to receive CARES Act funding, will receive $188,634 to provide rent, mortgage, and utility payments to households impacted by the pandemic.
Texas
Houston became the largest American city to resume evictions when it did not extend its local moratorium after Texas lifted the statewide moratorium last month. Housing advocates in Houston and across the state are concerned about an increase in evictions and homelessness. Lone Star Legal Aid, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of low-income Texans, has received an influx of calls for assistance from tenants facing eviction or utility cut-offs.
Utah
Utah affordable housing advocates, including the Utah Housing Coalition, an NLIHC state partner, are urging the Legislature to maintain funds for affordable housing as lawmakers make budget cuts due to COVID-19.
Vermont
Shelterforce examined how Vermont and the Champlain Housing Trust have protected people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic by remaining flexible, responding quickly, and effectively repurposing space for quarantine.
Washington DC
Housing advocates and experts warn of a surge in evictions after Washington DC’s eviction ban expires 60 days after Mayor Muriel Bowser lifts the public health emergency.
Wisconsin
Two weeks after Wisconsin’s eviction moratorium expired, eviction filings across the state have jumped 42% over 2019 levels. Housing advocates and officials fear that these numbers will continue to grow after the federal eviction moratorium expires July 25.
Guidance
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Overview of Testing for SARS-CoV-2 - Updated June 13
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Housing Trust Fund CARES Act Eviction Moratorium FAQs - June 16
System Planning: A Framework for Homelessness Prevention - June 16
Department of Treasury
Coronavirus Relief Fund Allocations to Tribal Governments - Updated June 17
Coronavirus Relief Fund: Tribal Allocation Methodology for Second Distribution - June 12
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Translated FHFA COVID-19 Resources Available in Six Languages - June 16
FEMA
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Resources - Updated June 12