Key Findings from Program Interim Report
Summary
A Treasury release on interim data from the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, reporting that state and local programs served 160,000 households in May, over 60 percent more than the previous month, while urging states and localities to accelerate aid. It cites Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data that approximately 1.2 million households reported in June being very likely to face eviction in the next two months. The release states that Treasury paid the full $25 billion of ERA1 by early February and made $8.6 billion available through ERA2 in early May, and lists steps taken to speed delivery, such as permitting assistance directly to tenants. It adds that grantees committed more than $1 billion in the first quarter of 2021 for administrative costs and housing stability services.
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Emergency Rental Assistance Data Shows Programs Ramping Up, but States and
Localities Must Do More to Accelerate Aid
Data released today by the Treasury Department on the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA)
program shows a rapid ramp-up in state and local programs – with 160,000 households served in
May, over 60 percent more than the previous month – as well as early success in targeting the
lowest-income households. However, state and local governments must do more to accelerate aid
to struggling renters and expand programs to meet the scale of assistance needed. According to
data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, in June, approximately 1.2 million
households reported being very likely to face eviction in the next two months. While some state
and local programs are increasingly reaching households in need, others lag far behind, and
many programs have just launched in recent weeks.
Money is available in every state to help renters at risk of eviction – and the urgency has never
been greater. The Administration is calling for an all-hands-on-deck effort by state and local
governments, courts, community organizations, and the legal community to prevent evictions,
including moving more quickly to get emergency rental assistance to families in need.
Since the start of the Administration, Treasury has taken bold action to give state and local
governments the tools and flexibility needed to scale up programs quickly. Treasury will
continue to work with grantees and use every tool available to get this aid into the hands of
families at risk of eviction, including reallocating additional funds to grantees that demonstrate
results.
By early February, Treasury had paid state, local, and Tribal governments the full $25 billion
available in the first round of ERA (ERA1), with $8.6 billion in additional funds made available
in early May through the second round of ERA (ERA2) under the American Rescue Plan Act of
2021. Treasury has taken further steps to speed delivery, remove barriers, and reach families
most in need, such as:
• Requiring ERA2 programs to offer assistance directly to tenants when landlords do not
participate and cutting down the time in ERA1 until such offers can be made,
• Permitting ERA2 programs to offer assistance directly to tenants without first seeking
landlord participation,
• Protecting renters from eviction while payments are being made on their behalf,
• Reducing burdensome documentation requirements for verifying income, and urging
grantees not to institute requirements that would reduce participation, while ensuring
program integrity,
• Clarifying how programs can assist individuals experiencing homelessness or searching
for new housing,
• Clarifying that programs can use bundled payments to landlords or utility providers to
scale up assistance quickly, and
• Promoting program accessibility through language access and culturally competent
housing stability services.
Treasury took these important steps, which have increased the impact of the program, based on
feedback from grantees, tenant advocates, and property owners. As a result, numerous states and
localities are now using fact-specific proxies for applicant income – for example, using average
incomes in the neighborhood as a proxy for the individual applicant’s income – streamlining
what is often the most time-consuming part of eligibility verification. Further, Treasury is
sharing promising practices with grantees nationwide and expanding outreach efforts to increase
awareness about the program among tenants and landlords. The remainder of this blog shares
key findings from ERA program data from January through May 2021.
1. State and local ERA programs are ramping up significantly – but growth must
accelerate to meet the scale of need
The number of families served by state and local ERA programs grew rapidly over recent
months: the program served roughly 90,000 households from January through March, served
100,000 households in April alone, and then served over 60 percent more – 160,000 households
– in May. While more and more households are getting help each month, continued rapid
expansion is needed to reach the scale of renters at risk of eviction. Based on the U.S. Census
Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, 1.2 million households report being very likely to face
eviction in the next two months. While these estimates will change over time, they show the
continued, significant need to expand rental assistance programs.
State and local grantees provided approximately $1.5 billion in assistance for rent, overdue rent
payments, and utilities through May 31. Rental and housing assistance in May exceeded the total
from all prior months combined. While these strides are important, numerous states and local
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grantees – including some with large ERA allocations – did not open their programs until May or
even early June and reported little or no household assistance disbursed through May 31. For
example, over 80 state and local governments had no spending on household assistance through
May 31.
2. ERA programs have disproportionately served the lowest-income households
A strong majority of households supported by ERA in the first quarter – over 70 percent – were
very low-income, with household incomes under 30 percent of typical incomes in their
geographic area. Because these households often face significant financial insecurity and risk of
eviction, reaching them is a key step to preventing evictions.
3. Performance varies greatly across state and local programs, with some reaching many
families and others lagging far behind
Some state and local government started programs quickly and have reached tens of thousands of
families. For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia grew its program quickly in the first
quarter of 2021 and, as of May 31, had deployed more than $155 million in rent and utility
assistance to eligible households. The State of Texas ramped up spending in April and
dramatically increased spending in May: according to the state’s public online dashboard, by
early July, more than $450 million in assistance had been distributed and roughly 70,000
households served. In contrast, other programs have just recently launched, months after
receiving funds, or remain small in scale. To further accelerate aid, Treasury urges programs to
adopt the flexibilities provided in ERA guidance and promising practices.
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4. States and localities with rental assistance programs that predate ERA have scaled up
faster
Running an effective rental assistance program requires up-front program infrastructure – hiring
staff, developing policies and procedures, building an application process, and establishing
partnerships with other organizations. Before this year, few governments had robust rental
assistance programs, and none at the scale now made possible by ERA. Governments already
operating programs – with the foundational infrastructure already in place – have been able to
ramp up ERA more quickly.
This means that once grantees make the investments needed to set up ERA programs, funds can
be effectively deployed where they are needed most. It also means that if grantees invest the time
and resources required to more quickly set up their infrastructure for ERA programs, they will be
able to deliver critical lifelines to renters sooner.
ERA is helping develop a new national infrastructure for rental assistance and eviction
prevention that did not previously exist. Program data suggests that many state and local
governments focused on building program infrastructure early this year and have now turned to
scaling up assistance. States and localities committed more than $1 billion in the first quarter of
2021 for administrative costs – like hiring staff – and housing stability services, reflecting the
scale of program stand-up efforts. Since then, rental assistance spending has grown significantly:
by May, spending on rental assistance was nearly three times higher than in the first three
months of 2021 combined – exactly the pattern expected for grantees that first built new program
infrastructures and then began delivering much-needed support to households.
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