The unprecedented relief program, which pays up to 18 months of rent for households hobbled by the pandemic’s economic downturn, has gathered steam over the summer. In August the program provided households with $2.3 billion—out of a total program budget of $47 billion—compared to $1.7 billion the month before, the Treasury Department said Friday. The results mean more than $7 billion has been distributed so far. The assistance had gotten off to a slow start following its December launch, hampered by bureaucratic delays among the nearly 500 local programs administering the aid. State and local jurisdictions that reduced cumbersome paperwork requirements have showed the most improvement, the Treasury said. “When the Emergency Rental Assistance Program launched earlier this year, there was little state and local infrastructure to deliver emergency rental assistance,” the Treasury Department said in a statement. “Most rental assistance grantees needed to start programs virtually from scratch. Nonetheless, many programs have proven an ability to accelerate aid effectively.” The rental aid program is one of the major remaining components of the social safety net the government put in place during the pandemic, as other measures, such as extra unemployment benefits and the federal eviction ban, have recently been withdrawn. Renters relied more heavily on pandemic assistance than homeowners and were left in a more precarious position after the aid ended, according to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier this week. Indeed, there were more far renters than homeowners at risk of losing their housing, according to the most recent polling data from the Census Department, which showed 3.3 million renters were worried about having to leave their homes due to eviction, compared to 1.2 million homeowners who feared foreclosure, as of early September. The Treasury Department plans to take money away from poorly performing local programs and give it to ones that have ramped up their spending at the end of the month. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Diccon at dhyatt@thebalance.com.
