Nearly 10 million emergency rental-assistance payments have reached households at risk of eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.
The federal government’s emergency rental-assistance effort — described by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Tuesday as “the first nationwide infrastructure for eviction prevention” — doled out billions of dollars in aid to state and local governments across two programs: one under a COVID-19 spending bill passed in December 2020, and another under the American Rescue Plan passed in 2021.
Although the relief was at times criticized for being too slow-moving, with other federal eviction protections having lapsed in 2021 as rents began to rise nationwide, the Treasury Department said that it nonetheless helped keep families in their homes.
As of Sept. 30, the rental assistance programs had made over 9.7 million payments, the Treasury Department said, with many of those payments going to low-income households.
“The emergency rental-assistance program, in combination with other administration initiatives, has averted what many predicted would be a wave of evictions during the pandemic,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo said in a statement.
The Treasury Department pointed to Connecticut, Chicago, and Pierce County, Wash., as success stories within the emergency rental-assistance movement, noting Chicago had even used the federal dollars to help offer free legal services to tenants in eviction courts.
To “accelerate the provision of support and maximize available resources for renters” moving forward, the Treasury Department said it will continue to reallocate funds that would otherwise go unused to areas that still have a demonstrated need.
“The legacy of our program extends far beyond the immediate lifeline it gave to renters,” Yellen said in prepared remarks at the at National Association of Counties 2023 Legislative Conference Tuesday. “By our count, 180 jurisdictions across 36 states have now created or enhanced structures and policies for eviction prevention — much of which will last beyond the expiration of federal funds.”
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