Thread by @dianeyentel

NLIHC & our Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition of 850+ orgs are urging the Biden admin to extend the CDC eviction moratorium and use a whole of government approach to get emergency rental assistance out more efficiently & effectively. bit.ly/3iEUWkE

While vaccinations rates are up & COVID-19 caseloads down in many areas, communities w/ lower vaccination rates & higher COVID-19 cases are the same as those with renters at heightened risk of eviction when the moratorium expires. evictionlab.org/filing-and-vac…

Allowing the federal eviction moratorium to expire before vaccination rates increase in marginalized communities could lead to increased spread of, and deaths from, COVID-19. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

And while the Biden admin & state/local gov’ts are working diligently to provide emergency rental assistance to renters at risk of losing their homes, ongoing roadblocks and new challenges have prevented far too many renters from accessing these resources.

Emergency rental assistance is very slow to reach renters.

Texas has likely done the best with its $ so far – and they’ve only spent 25%.

Many states have spent less than 3-5%: AZ, CT, CO, KS, MO, NE, CA, DC and more.

Wyoming has spent less than .1%!

Challenges to getting $ out include: state/local gov’t capacity; program administrators continuing to impose burdensome documentation requirements that make it more difficult to distribute funds and/or not utilizing direct-to-tenant assistance when needed...

Additional challenges: some landlords refusing to participate in ERA programs, many renters and landlords being unaware that aid is available, and a developing trend of some landlords evicting tenants even after receiving ERA funds to cover back rent.

Here’s what the Biden administration must do to prevent a historic wave of evictions this summer and fall: nlihc.org/sites/default/…

First, the Biden administration should strengthen and extend the federal eviction moratorium until states and localities can distribute emergency rental assistance and until vaccination rates in marginalized communities have increased.

To increase awareness of emergency rental assistance, the Biden administration should incorporate it into its National Month of Action in June, convene and activate stakeholders, deploy federal agencies, and further partner with state and local governments.

The Department of Justice should establish eviction delay, diversion, and mitigation measures. The administration should encourage local partnerships with legal aid organizations to deploy resources and prevent evictions.

The administration should reaffirm renter protections in the ERA program and the @CFPB should create a hotline for renters to call to report landlords acting in bad faith.

The Dept of Treasury should help communities more quickly distribute emergency rental assistance by building on flexible guidance, encouraging navigator programs, creating/sharing model program applications, establishing clear program goals & benchmarks.

To ensure proper oversight, discern best practices, and identify areas for improvement in emergency rental assistance programs and program design, the Biden administration must also commit to robust data collection and transparency.

With at least 6 million renter households still behind on rent as the expiration of the eviction moratorium nears, the Biden administration must work quickly and aggressively, and with whole of gov’t, to avert historic wave of evictions this summer and fall.