Coronavirus Updates – January 31, 2022

Updates on NLIHC Resources

NLIHC has updated two resources on the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) program:

National Updates

Congress

The Democratic senators from California, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) Secretary Janet Yellen on January 24 calling on Treasury to reallocate federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) to communities most in need. The letter was signed by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). In their letter, the senators echoed the requests outlined in a letter sent to Treasury by Governors Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Phil Murphy, and Kathy Hochul earlier this month.

Advocacy & Research

The National Women’s Law Center released a fact sheet analyzing the December 1-13, 2021, Census Household Pulse Survey for gender and race impacts of the COVID-19 economic crisis.

Reporting

The Washington Post reports the consulting firm running New York’s emergency rental assistance program told employees the firm made 38% profit margins on its contract with the state, alarming state officials and advocates. In defense, the firm referred to NLIHC’s ERA research report showing that New York had the highest per-household spending in the country, but NLIHC’s report in fact found that state funds had reached only 3% of the 1.6 million households that pay more than 30% of their earnings on housing – a population at particular risk of eviction. “Having potentially significant amounts of these funds go to for-profit firms with no grounding in local communities is deeply problematic,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel. She added that some for-profit firms “can be reluctant or unwilling to implement proven best practices for serving the lowest-income or most marginalized people because doing so cuts into their profit margins.”

Pew Charitable Trusts published a report on how Dallas is using federal COVID-19 aid to fight homelessness. Last summer, more than a dozen Dallas-area nonprofits and government agencies launched a new program using federal COVID-19 relief funds to place people and families experiencing homelessness in permanent housing. The new Dallas R.E.A.L Time Rapid Rehousing Initiative is funded through the Emergency Solutions Grants-CARES Act (ESG-CV) and Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As of January 6, less than a third of the $4 billion in ESG-CV funds had been spent nationwide, and only 11.6% of EHVs had been accepted by landlords nationwide as of January 18.

State and Local News

Arkansas

Panelists on an episode of KUAR’s “Issues That Matter” said the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of affordable housing have worsened the homelessness crisis in Arkansas.

California

Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors voted on January 25 to extend countywide eviction protections through the end of the year. Under the new rules, landlords are prohibited from evicting tenants impacted by COVID-19 for nonpayment of rent until at least 2023. Even so, the approved plan will begin to gradually phase out other renter protections later this year. Starting on June 1, only tenants making 80% or less of area median income will be protected for nonpayment. The county’s current tenant protections were set to expire after January 31.

San Francisco supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance on January 25 that will require landlords to give tenants facing eviction a 10-day notice before filling out a three-day eviction notice. During the pandemic, a new COVID-19-related 15-day requirement for landlords to notify tenants of eviction was added to California state law. Supervisor Dean Preston says San Francisco’s new legislation will provide additional protections for tenants after the pandemic-related protections expire.

Projections by the San Francisco Public Press suggest as much as two-thirds of the rental assistance requested in San Francisco will fail to reach tenants in time to keep them housed this spring if current payment trends persist. San Franciscans are submitting rent relief applications faster than the government is issuing payments, with $187 million in applications still awaiting approval. The Public Press estimates that the backlog is likely to grow to $254 million by April 1, when landlords will be allowed to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent.

Georgia

Georgia Today interviewed the Washington Post reporters whose investigation revealed that the landlord of one apartment complex in Clayton County has filed more evictions against its tenants during the pandemic than any other landlord across metro Atlanta.

Indiana

An op-ed in the South Bend Tribune written by Tracey Hutchings-Goetz, the communications and policy director of Hoosier Action, outlines the urgent need for Indiana’s General Assembly to reform the emergency rental assistance application process and address the imbalance of power driving the eviction crisis in Indiana. Hutchings-Goetz urges Hoosiers to call their legislators and demand they take action to protect Indiana’s 2.5 million renters.

Maryland

While eviction filings for nonpayment of rent across Maryland remain below pre-pandemic levels, the number of evictions is climbing. According to the National Equity Atlas, an estimated 111,000 households are behind on rent in Maryland, with 79% of those households being people of color.

Nebraska

Nebraska State Senator Justin Wayne says the state has chosen not to apply for the second round of federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds despite the ongoing need for assistance. Tanya Gifford, the executive director of Lift Up Sarpy County, says the low number of applicants to the county’s ERA program is not due to a lack of need but a lack of education about the program. Gifford wants Nebraska to give local housing nonprofit organizations more control over ERA distribution.

Nevada

The Nevada Current reports that because of a lack of affordable and available housing units, Clark County has begun using COVID-19 relief funds initially allocated for rehousing families experiencing or at risk of homelessness to temporarily place them in extended-stay motels instead. About 300 families in the county have completed housing assessments and are eligible for funds meant for rapid rehousing, but these families are struggling to find affordable rentals. Clark County is directing $150 million in American Rescue Plan Act Fiscal Recovery Funds toward affordable housing projects, though completing those projects will take time.

New York

One week after New York’s eviction moratorium ended, thousands of New Yorkers applied to the state’s emergency rental assistance (ERA) program. The state agency tasked with administering the ERA program received roughly 2,000 applications in the first four days after the statewide moratorium ended on January 15th. Tenants who have applied for ERA in New York are protected from eviction while their application is pending.

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued guidance on January 21 reminding New Yorkers of the rights of and protections for tenants. The guidance was issued following the expiration of the state’s eviction moratorium on January 15.

North Dakota

North Dakota opted to return about $150 million in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds – nearly half the money it received. Housing advocates say more work should be done to spend the money before it is returned and note that ERA payouts slowed after the state began to use a private vendor to run its application portal. A letter signed by 28 North Dakota faith leaders urges state officials to do everything in their power to ensure residents can access ERA.

Ohio

According to the Dayton Daily News, local nonprofit leaders are concerned that a feared spike in evictions has only been delayed until pandemic-related safety nets expire. Advocates and service providers are bracing for a spike in evictions and an increase in homelessness in the Dayton area.

Oregon

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) began accepting new applications for the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program (OERAP) on January 26. The limited reopening will last at least three weeks and be based on the availability of funds. The agency estimates there are enough funds to support between 6,700 and 9,300 additional renters, whose applications will be prioritized on the basis of need rather than on a first-come, first-served basis.

Texas

Texas Housers launched its Texas Eviction Case dashboard as part of the organization’s Texas Eviction Diversion Tracker. The new tool can be used with Texas Housers’ Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Dashboard to identify where ERA funding is still available. Learn more about the Texas Eviction Case dashboard and Texas Housers’ latest insights here.

Eviction filings in several Texas cities are among the highest in the nation, even as millions of dollars in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) funds are being recaptured by the federal government because the funds remain unspent. Among the 31 cities tracked by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, Houston saw the most eviction filings for the week of January 17, closely followed by Dallas and Fort Worth.

Washington

The Spokesman-Review discusses housing advocates’ fears of a spike in evictions when rental assistance funding dries up. The Washington legislature enacted new tenant protections last year, but Spokane County advocates worry that if rental assistance runs out and rents continue to increase, tenant protections will not be enough to keep people housed.

Guidance

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development