WASHINGTON—Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Agriculture, the VA, along with FHFA have released a joint statement addressing the CDC's eviction moratorium.
The statement encourages housing owners and operators to access Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) to avoid evicting a tenant for non-payment, and outlines assistance programs available.
The statement noted that the American Rescue Plan allocated an additional $21.5 billion for ERA that can be used by renters to cover rent and make landlords whole. This is on top of $25 billion allocated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, bringing the total amount of ERA available to more than $46 billion.
“While few state and local agencies had ERA programs prior to this funding becoming available, the Administration has engaged in a whole-of-government effort to drive the distribution of these resources,” the agencies stated. “Treasury has developed flexible program rules to make assistance easier to access, provided best practices for establishing effective programs, and communicated consequences for a lack of performance by state and local grantees.
Technical Assistance
To support Treasury as it implements the ERA program, HUD is providing technical assistance to HUD grantees and working with public housing authorities, private landlords, and tribal communities, to ensure that households and landlords participating in HUD's federally-subsidized programs know the process for obtaining ERA, and that assistance is targeted to communities who need help the most, the release explained.
“The USDA is also committed to sharing ERA program information with rural communities. Within the USDA Multi-Family portfolio, there are approximately 65,000 tenants who do not receive rental assistance,” the organizations wrote. “Earlier this month, USDA sent letters to these tenants that included information on how to apply for the ERA program. Additionally, USDA has amplified the ERA program to over 250,000 online subscribers and rural leaders at the state and local level. USDA has also instructed Farm Service Agency and Rural Development State Offices to share ERA program hard copy materials with rural residents.”
‘One-Stop Website’
In addition to the direct and indirect steps the VA said it is taking to help veterans who are experiencing financial hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it said it is providing a one-stop website to inform veterans facing housing instability of the programs and resources across the federal government that are available to them, the release stated.
“The administration has engaged in a whole-of-government approach – together with major nonprofits and companies – to amplify the availability of these resources,” the statement reads. “This effort has reached tens of millions of households to let them know that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created a locater tool to help landlords and tenants find a program in their jurisdiction.”