NLIHC launched new Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) tools to monitor trends in how ERA programs are operating and to help renters find assistance. These tools include an ERA Dashboard on how many and which programs are implementing best practices and an updated ERA program table to help renters locate programs in their areas. These tools include programs funded by the $25 billion Treasury ERA program appropriated by the December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act (ERA1). The resources will also soon include data from the $21.6 billion appropriated by the American Rescue Plan (ERA2). As of May 12, 2021, NLIHC identified 344 emergency rental assistance programs, including 47 statewide programs, funded through the $25 billion Treasury ERA program.
The ERA Dashboard presents a snapshot of ERA programs with key design features that enable them to serve the lowest-income and most marginalized renters in need of housing assistance. The most recent Treasury guidance strongly encourages programs to avoid establishing burdensome documentation requirements, requires ERA2 programs to provide direct-to-tenant assistance, and cautions programs against excluding tenants with federal rent subsidies, among other notable changes. NLIHC will continue to monitor programs and the rollout of these key design features. As of May 12, 148 programs allow for self-attestation, allowing applicants to attest to certain eligibility requirements without having to provide burdensome documentation. The dashboard also tracks types of permissible self-attestation, such as COVID hardship, income, housing instability, and lease/proof of tenancy. The dashboard also tracks programs that provide direct-to-tenant assistance when landlords are unresponsive or refuse to participate. As of mid-May, 78 programs – approximately 23% of programs tracked – allowed for direct-to-tenant payments. In addition to the dashboard summary data, users can toggle within the accompanying table of programs to see which programs contain each attribute.
NLIHC’s updated ERA program table helps renters find programs near them. The searchable table contains links to programs’ websites. Users can search for their relevant state, territory, county, city, or tribal government to find applicable programs. The database is updated three times per week to reflect the most updated program information. The ERA table and dashboard will only include data from Treasury ERA programs, but NLIHC will continue to maintain its comprehensive research database of all rental assistance programs created or expanded in response to the pandemic.
NLIHC is also developing an ERA Resource Hub which will include additional materials to help programs implement practices for an equitable distribution of assistance to those most in need.
If you know of a program that is not included in our database or see a program that needs to be updated, please email us at: [email protected]