NLIHC and the University of Pennsylvania’s Housing Initiative at Penn (HIP) released on July 27 a new report, Continuing Emergency Rental Assistance: How Jurisdictions Are Building on Treasury’s ERA Program. The report examines which components of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program are being retained by state and local jurisdictions, as well as the factors leading to their retention. The report finds that nearly half of surveyed jurisdictions will continue to provide emergency rental assistance beyond the depletion of Treasury ERA funds. Those jurisdictions not continuing to provide assistance cited lack of a dedicated funding source and lack of staff capacity as barriers.
The report draws on a survey of nearly 120 program administrators whose Treasury ERA application portals were closed or whose spending data indicated that more than 75% of their Treasury funds had been disbursed. The survey aimed to generate a broad understanding of how administrators were planning for the end of Treasury’s ERA program. Researchers also conducted 10 semi-structured interviews to further explore what factors contributed to program administrators’ decisions to continue emergency rental assistance and to retain other components of Treasury’s ERA program.
The report finds that jurisdictions are using a variety of funding sources to continue providing emergency rental assistance. Nearly half of jurisdictions continuing assistance are doing so in part using temporary federal funds (e.g., “American Rescue Plan Act” funds). More than half (57%) are using state and local funds at least in part. Among interviewees, plans to continue providing emergency financial assistance relied heavily on previously existing programs.
Nearly 65% of jurisdictions continuing an emergency rental assistance program, as well as 34% of jurisdictions not continuing an emergency rental assistance program, are retaining or planning to retain at least one component of Treasury’s ERA program (e.g., court partnerships, housing navigation, or technology infrastructure). Of those jurisdictions continuing emergency rental assistance, nearly two-thirds are allowing applicants to self-attest to certain eligibility criteria. Some jurisdictions are also determining household income via categorical eligibility (39%) or fact-specific proxy (16%). Just under 25% of surveyed jurisdictions are retaining at least one such flexibility in non-emergency rental assistance programs.
The report also finds that, in some instances, Treasury’s ERA program was the first direct assistance program that an agency had administered. Findings from interviews suggest that the program fundamentally changed agencies’ long-term focuses and cultures and led, in some cases, to expanded program infrastructure.
Read the report at: https://bit.ly/3OA67La