Emergency Rental Assistance
51% of Emergency Rental Assistance funds have been distributed to renters across the U.S. While some states have been quicker to distribute (NJ, DC, TX), others are lagging far behind (SD, ND, WY).
Percent of Emergency Rental Assistance funds distributed
Jan 1 - Nov 30, 2021
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury. Notes: Assistance to households is the total dollar amount of ERA1 and ERA2 award funds paid to or for households, including payments for rent, rental arrears, utility/home energy costs, utility/home energy arrears, and other eligible expenses. This does not include funds paid for Housing Stability Services. "Percent distributed" is calculated as the sum of assistance to households divided by 90% of the ERA1 and ERA2 allocation amount.
The December 2020 stimulus bill and the March 2021 American Rescue Plan include a combined $45 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance funds. But this assistance is being unevenly doled out through hundreds of state and local emergency rental assistance programs that vary greatly. Many places have been slow to distribute this critical aid.
About two-thirds of states and localities increased their distribution rate by reducing documentation burdens for accessing this aid, and one-third allowed aid to be provided directly to the tenant.1 Meanwhile, across the U.S., about one in three adults who are late on their rent or mortgage fear they are likely to be evicted or foreclosed upon in the next two months. (Likelihood of eviction or foreclosure, by state). In Wyoming and North Dakota, where only 5% of rental assistance funds have been distributed, 44% and 61%, respectively, of adults late on their rent or mortgage are concerned they’ll soon lose their housing.
“Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Dashboard”. National Low Income Housing Coalition. https://nlihc.org/era-dashboard