Landlords and tenants are calling on states to speed up distribution of federal funds for rental assistance after the Treasury Department announced Wednesday that just over 10% of the funds Congress allocated for needy tenants during the coronavirus pandemic has been distributed.
Lawmakers approved $46.5 billion this year for renters facing financial difficulty because of the shutdowns prompted by COVID-19. States distributed about $5.1 billion of the $25 billion that the government had given them through the end of July, according to the Treasury Department, although in general they are handing out more money each month.
In July, local governments handed out a total of $1.7 billion to more than 341,000 households across the nation, which is a 15% increase since June and double the number aided in May, according to the Treasury Department.
Renters worry that with landlords challenging the Biden administration’s evictions moratorium at the Supreme Court, they could face eviction if the justices side with the landlords before tenants receive financial assistance. The eviction moratorium prevents landlords from evicting tenants, so they are unable to remove a renter who can’t pay rent.
Larry Gross, executive director for the Coalition for Economic Survival, said the administrative failure is not the fault of renters so the eviction moratorium should be extended.
“When the auto, banking and airline industries needed a bailout, the money got to them in time. We need to do the same for renters,” Mr. Gross said.
About 6.5 million households are behind on rent, said Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
“The Supreme Court could, at any time, strike down the eviction moratorium, the last remaining federal protection keeping millions of families safely housed. The possibility of millions of families losing their homes as the delta variant surges and with states and cities still sitting on billions in emergency rental assistance that could keep them in their homes is too tragic to contemplate, and yet here we are. There is little time and no excuse left — states, cities and counties must do more,” she said.
According to the National Association of Realtors, Virginia and Texas have been distributing the funds quicker than the others with the former having doled out more than 41% and Texas distributing more than 33% of its allocated funding through June, while Wyoming and New York are at the bottom, having distributed less than 1%.
The Treasury Department report showed states and localities have been improving in the speed of distribution, although the department specifically pointed to Texas as having leveled off its disbursement because of a lack of backlog in applications.
To try to reduce backlogs and speed up the process, the Treasury is suggesting states allow tenants to declare their eligibility on financial hardship and income through self-declarations.
Through the end of July, 44,637 Virginia households had received funds, as did 22,559 D.C. renters and 9,478 Marylanders. Virginia received more than $569 million and had handed out roughly $300 million, while Maryland received roughly $401 million and handed out $57.9 million. D.C., meanwhile, got $200 million and had distributed about 45% of those funds, according to a spreadsheet provided by the Treasury Department.
The moratorium was first issued in September 2020 under former President Donald Trump, and the government has continued to renew it.
This week, a group of landlords from Alabama and Georgia hoping to strike down the ban on evictions, which was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, argued in a Supreme Court filing that the agency has run afoul of its authority.
The Biden administration in its response in the high court argued the eviction moratorium was extended in August because of the spread of the delta variant and should remain in place. It is set to expire in October.
The Supreme Court could announce any day whether it will block the ban.
Patrick Newton, communications director for the National Association of Realtors and a spokesman for the landlords petitioning the justices, said evicting a tenant is the last resort for housing providers.
“The best solution for all parties is rental assistance, and all energy should go toward its swift distribution. Nearly $50 billion of aid is now available in every state to cover up to a year-and-a-half of combined back and future rent and utilities for struggling tenants,” he said.
Caleb Kruckenberg, an attorney with the National Civil Liberties Alliance representing landlords in another case pending before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also challenging the evictions moratorium, said judges have been relying on the government’s word that rental assistance is being given out to tenants.
But the Treasury report proves that the government duped the courts, with much more money needing to be handed out, he said.
“The reality is this money is not going to the people who need it — it certainly is not going to any of my clients,” he said. “The government hasn’t done what it keeps saying it’s doing.”
