The Emergency Rental Assitance program was created during the pandemic and for good reason. When COVID-19 was prominent in the United States, evictions were at an all-time high. This was because people were missing work due to some states having shutdowns to stop the spread of the disease and others losing their jobs entirely. Tens of millions of Americans became unemployed due to COVID-19 and could not pay their rent. Nowadays, the program lives on and is a big help for those who know how to get the most out of it.
Two Different Programs
You might be surprised to learn that there are two Emergency Rental assistance programs. These are commonly referred to as ERA1 and ERA2.
ERA1 – Consolidated Appropriations Act
The first ERA was approved in 2021 and gave billions of dollars in assistance to eligible households. Much of this went towards community development institutions that served minority communities that were most at risk of suffering financial hardship during COVID-19.
The exact amount of funding for this program is difficult to determine. The US Treasury stated that $25 billion was provided for the program while the National Credit Union Administration says it was $12 billion.
ERA2 – American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
The ERA2, better known as the American Rescue Plan Act, was also approved in 2021. It also provided billions to eligible households and was specifically aimed at providing assistance for eviction prevention, covering rental arrears, and utility costs.
Like the ERA1, there is conflicting information on how much funding was given to this program. The US Treasury says that it was $21.1 billion while the National Association of Counties says it was $1.9 trillion.
How to Benefit from the American Rescue Plan Act
Even though the ERA2 was put into action back in 2021, it is still around and you can still benefit from it. However, you need to understand that the states are the ones getting the funding and are in charge of what to do with it. This means you won’t be getting a check from the federal government. Instead, it will be up to your state to decide how the funding is spent.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Get Rental Assistance
Step 1 – Check to see if your state is still offering rental assistance. If not, you may be able to get help with other issues such as utilities. Do your research and find out what could help your situation. Also, remember that the program might have different names in different states. For example, in Georgia, it is called the Georgia Rental Assistance Program.
Step 2 – If your state is offering benefits, you’ll need to check your eligibility. In many cases, your annual income may need to be below a certain threshold to qualify. Even so, every state does things differently so make sure you get the facts straight before applying.
Step 3 – Once you have determined whether or not your state is offering rental assistance and whether or not you are eligible, you can apply. How you do this depends on the state. For some, you may be able to do it online; for others, you may need to print out a form, fill it out, and mail it in. Other states may have facilities that you can visit in person.
IMPORTANT – Remember that since states handle the American Rescue Plan rental assistance differently, you may not even need to apply since some states use their funding automatically. Maybe you’ve already received assistance in some form or another. It just depends on how your state is doing things.
Emergency Rental Assitance Updates
There have been some updates to the ERA over the years on a national level that could affect how states manage their funding. This may or may not have an impact on getting rental assistance in your area but it is a good idea to keep these updates in mind.
The most recent update was done on February 8, 2024. A body of research was released by the Treasury and Office of Evaluation Sciences to streamline the verification of income and to expand access to the program.
Does the Program Work?
If you’re familiar with the inefficiencies and endless bureaucracy of the US government, you may be wondering if the Emergency Rental Assistance program even does what it is supposed to do. This is a fair assessment considering recent problems such as the PPP loan debacle where big businesses were snatching up funds meant for small businesses using their banking relationships.
The effectiveness of the Emergency Rental Assistance program is largely up to the states. While the federal government does control how much the program is funded overall and does make frequent updates, the states are mostly in control of how the funding is spent or whether it is spent at all.
For example, some states, like Georgia, are no longer accepting applications for rental assistance. Others, like West Virginia, allow recipients to use funds for critical home repairs. Each state is different.
Knowing all of this, we can look at a couple of factors to get an idea of how effective the program was.
New Housing Projects
By June 2023, state and local governments had allocated $63 billion for new housing projects. The idea is to help get more people housed, but how that plays out depends on many factors. The United States is infamous for having more empty houses than homeless people so whether or not the states will make good use of this funding remains to be seen. For all we know they could build houses just to sell them off to real estate companies that jack up the prices or just let them sit empty.
Foreclosures Avoided
In more positive news, around 400,000 homes avoided foreclosure thanks to the American Rescue Plan rental assistance. This cost around $5.5 billion which comes out to around $14,000 per household which isn’t bad. Foreclosure levels are down 13% from pre-pandemic levels which is a big win for the program. In this case, at least, the program did what it intended to do in order to help those who struggled.
The Emergency Rental Assitance program was created during the pandemic and for good reason. When COVID-19 was prominent in the United States, evictions were at an all-time high. This was because people were missing work due to some states having shutdowns to stop the spread of the disease and others losing their jobs entirely. Tens of millions of Americans became unemployed due to COVID-19 and could not pay their rent. Nowadays, the program lives on and is a big help for those who know how to get the most out of it.
Two Different Programs
You might be surprised to learn that there are two Emergency Rental assistance programs. These are commonly referred to as ERA1 and ERA2.
ERA1 – Consolidated Appropriations Act
The first ERA was approved in 2021 and gave billions of dollars in assistance to eligible households. Much of this went towards community development institutions that served minority communities that were most at risk of suffering financial hardship during COVID-19.
The exact amount of funding for this program is difficult to determine. The US Treasury stated that $25 billion was provided for the program while the National Credit Union Administration says it was $12 billion.
ERA2 – American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
The ERA2, better known as the American Rescue Plan Act, was also approved in 2021. It also provided billions to eligible households and was specifically aimed at providing assistance for eviction prevention, covering rental arrears, and utility costs.
Like the ERA1, there is conflicting information on how much funding was given to this program. The US Treasury says that it was $21.1 billion while the National Association of Counties says it was $1.9 trillion.
How to Benefit from the American Rescue Plan Act
Even though the ERA2 was put into action back in 2021, it is still around and you can still benefit from it. However, you need to understand that the states are the ones getting the funding and are in charge of what to do with it. This means you won’t be getting a check from the federal government. Instead, it will be up to your state to decide how the funding is spent.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Get Rental Assistance
Step 1 – Check to see if your state is still offering rental assistance. If not, you may be able to get help with other issues such as utilities. Do your research and find out what could help your situation. Also, remember that the program might have different names in different states. For example, in Georgia, it is called the Georgia Rental Assistance Program.
Step 2 – If your state is offering benefits, you’ll need to check your eligibility. In many cases, your annual income may need to be below a certain threshold to qualify. Even so, every state does things differently so make sure you get the facts straight before applying.
Step 3 – Once you have determined whether or not your state is offering rental assistance and whether or not you are eligible, you can apply. How you do this depends on the state. For some, you may be able to do it online; for others, you may need to print out a form, fill it out, and mail it in. Other states may have facilities that you can visit in person.
IMPORTANT – Remember that since states handle the American Rescue Plan rental assistance differently, you may not even need to apply since some states use their funding automatically. Maybe you’ve already received assistance in some form or another. It just depends on how your state is doing things.
Emergency Rental Assitance Updates
There have been some updates to the ERA over the years on a national level that could affect how states manage their funding. This may or may not have an impact on getting rental assistance in your area but it is a good idea to keep these updates in mind.
The most recent update was done on February 8, 2024. A body of research was released by the Treasury and Office of Evaluation Sciences to streamline the verification of income and to expand access to the program.
Does the Program Work?
If you’re familiar with the inefficiencies and endless bureaucracy of the US government, you may be wondering if the Emergency Rental Assistance program even does what it is supposed to do. This is a fair assessment considering recent problems such as the PPP loan debacle where big businesses were snatching up funds meant for small businesses using their banking relationships.
The effectiveness of the Emergency Rental Assistance program is largely up to the states. While the federal government does control how much the program is funded overall and does make frequent updates, the states are mostly in control of how the funding is spent or whether it is spent at all.
For example, some states, like Georgia, are no longer accepting applications for rental assistance. Others, like West Virginia, allow recipients to use funds for critical home repairs. Each state is different.
Knowing all of this, we can look at a couple of factors to get an idea of how effective the program was.
New Housing Projects
By June 2023, state and local governments had allocated $63 billion for new housing projects. The idea is to help get more people housed, but how that plays out depends on many factors. The United States is infamous for having more empty houses than homeless people so whether or not the states will make good use of this funding remains to be seen. For all we know they could build houses just to sell them off to real estate companies that jack up the prices or just let them sit empty.
Foreclosures Avoided
In more positive news, around 400,000 homes avoided foreclosure thanks to the American Rescue Plan rental assistance. This cost around $5.5 billion which comes out to around $14,000 per household which isn’t bad. Foreclosure levels are down 13% from pre-pandemic levels which is a big win for the program. In this case, at least, the program did what it intended to do in order to help those who struggled.
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