Dear DHRC members and partners,

On August 8, President Trump backed away from negotiations and signed an executive order that will do nothing to protect the estimated 30 to 40 million renters at risk of losing their homes. The president signed the executive order despite growing bipartisan support for congressional action to address the housing and health needs of the lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness.

As NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel said in a press statement, “the time for political games, half-measures, and brinkmanship has long passed.” The cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of providing essential rental assistance to households at risk of eviction and homelessness. Negotiations must resume, and a comprehensive deal that includes robust housing and homelessness provisions and protections must be reached as soon as possible.

Take action today:

1. Contact your senators and representatives: Demand that Congress restart negotiations and pass the essential housing provisions of the HEROES Act. Find the phone numbers of your members of Congress here or send an email!
2. Use NLIHC’s Advocacy Toolkit to urge Congress to take immediate action to ensure people remain stably housed.
3. Call out the need for #RentReliefNow on social media, using our sample social media posts and images. Tag your member of Congress and demand action!
4. Publish op-eds and letters to the editor in your local papers using NLIHC’s media toolkit.

Additional updates below.

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Coronavirus Update, Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Please note that NLIHC hosts weekly national calls on COVID-19 and housing/homelessness every Monday afternoon. The call is this coming Monday, August 17, at 2:30pm to 4:00pm ET. Register for the call here: https://tinyurl.com/ru73qan

NLIHC is maintaining a COVID-19/Housing and Homelessness News and Resource page here.

NLIHC updated its emergency rental assistance programs on August 3 and released new resources, including an interactive map and searchable database. Join us on August 19, at 1:00pm ET for a webinar, Emergency Rental Assistance in Response to COVID-19: Themes, Challenges, and Early Lessons Learned. The panelists will discuss NLIHC’s new tools, highlight common themes and challenges of rental assistance programs across the U.S., and share early lessons learned in designing and implementing programs from a variety of perspectives. Register here.

NLIHC joined national partners in a letter sent on August 6 to Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) urging the inclusion of $11.5 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance programs in the next coronavirus relief bill.

Leading organizations from the health sector sent a letter to Congress on August 6, urging vital housing resources and protections in the next COVID-19 relief package. The letter calls for robust emergency rental assistance, a national eviction moratorium, and expanded funding for homeless assistance.

National Updates  

Congress

In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) discusses the accelerating housing crisis that our nation is facing.
She outlines actions that Congress must take to prevent the looming eviction crisis and stop predatory companies from further destabilizing the housing market.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD announced on August 10 that it awarded $472 million in CARES Act funding to public housing authorities to keep residents housed amid the pandemic.

FEMA

FEMA announced on August 11 the approval of over $84 million in additional grants for repairs after Hurricane Maria. The funds were allocated during the week of July 31 to August 6 and represent 105 projects related to the recovery and reconstruction of Puerto Rico.

Advocacy

The NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition will continue to push for a broad array of resources and protections, including emergency rental assistance and eviction prevention assistance, a national moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and emergency funds for homelessness service providers, housing authorities, and housing providers, among other recommendations. For more information, see DHRC’s full list of recommendations.

Reporting

“If there is not a significant and sustained federal intervention, there will be a tremendous increase in evictions across our country,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel in an interview on MSNBC. “We estimate that anywhere between 30-40 million renters are at risk of losing their homes before the end of the year if Congress does not act.” Watch the full interview: https://bit.ly/30GZayH 

 “Evictions risk lives. They drive families deeper into poverty. They risk further burdening our already overstretched hospital systems,” said Diane Yentel in a CNN video on COVID-19 and the looming eviction crisis. “They make it more difficult than ever for us to truly contain the pandemic as a country.”

Bloomberg CityLab reports that President Trump’s executive order does not require any concrete action to prevent a coronavirus housing crisis. “The President alluded to ‘stopping evictions,’ but the executive order fails to provide any meaningful relief to the millions of renters who are at risk of losing their homes,” said Diane Yentel in her statement about the executive order.

CNBC explains that President Trump’s executive order does not extend the eviction moratorium or offer immediate assistance to help prevent evictions. The article cites Diane Yentel’s statement on the executive order.

NPR reports that President Trump’s executive order will do little to stop the looming tidal wave of evictions. “There’s tremendous urgency,” said Diane Yentel. “There are millions of renters who can’t sleep at night because they don’t know what they’re going to do if they become homeless.”

Shelterforce republished Diane Yentel’s statement on President Trump’s executive order.

Politico reports on housing advocates’ concerns that President Trump’s executive order may be worse than inaction by reducing the urgency to reach a deal with Congress and giving renters a false sense of security. The article cites Diane Yentel’s statement on the executive order and Representative Maxine Waters’ (D-CA) statements during NLIHC’s national call on August 10.

CNN discussed the report that NLIHC and nine other institutions and organizations recently released that found that without significant federal intervention, 30-40 million people in the U.S. are at risk of eviction by the end of the year.

Politico reports that federal housing aid during the pandemic disproportionately benefits white households over minorities, with Black households most at risk of eviction.

The Guardian explains why President Trump’s executive order will do little to help  homeowners and renters, citing NLIHC’s statement on why the order is an “empty shell of promise.”

Bloomberg examines how the coronavirus pandemic has exposed disparities in America’s rental housing that will likely grow wider. While landlords of more expensive apartments have collected most of their rent payments during the pandemic, owners of older, more affordable units have not, threatening our country’s affordable housing supply.

Fast Company reports that while President Trump claimed that he would protect people from evictions, his executive order does not protect renters - it does not even extend the limited federal eviction moratorium that was included in the CARES Act.

State and Local News

A list of state and local emergency rental assistance programs is available here from NLIHC.

Arkansas

More than 275 evictions were filed in Arkansas in July and 233 evictions in June. Only 40 tenants filed answers to the civil evictions filed in July. Arkansas’ Unlawful Detainer eviction law requires tenants to pay the court one month’s rent before a hearing is allowed, making it incredibly difficult for tenants to obtain a hearing. Only one Circuit Court Judge, Chip Welch, announced that, because of the pandemic, he will not issue a writ of possession unless there is a hearing first.

California

The California Department of Housing and Community Development recently released frequently asked questions for the Project Homekey Notice of Funding Availability.

A report by Working Partnerships USA and the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley found that an estimated 43,490 renter households in Santa Clara County are at high risk of eviction, threatening to increase the county’s homeless population by as much as 225%. The impending eviction crisis is “hardly inevitable,” reports Palo Alto Online.

More than 1,600 California households have been evicted since Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide state of emergency on March 4, according to data that CalMatters obtained. Nearly a third of those evictions occurred after Governor Newsom’s March 19 shelter-in-place order, and more than 400 took place since Newsom issued an eviction moratorium on March 27.

Colorado

Between 436,000 and 596,000 people in Colorado — or 25%-36% of renters in the state — could be at risk of eviction by the end of the year, according to a new analysis. Governor Jared Polis extended his emergency executive order on evictions on August 11, requiring landlords to provide tenants 30 days’ notice before pursuing evictions, instead of the typical 10 days. The measure, however, does not ban evictions.

Connecticut

An op-ed in the CT Mirror by Susan Thomas, president of the Melville Charitable Trust, outlines why housing is healthcare and discusses the urgent need for federal housing and homelessness resources. The author discusses the Reaching Home Campaign – a partnership between the Connecticut Department of Housing and local, state, and federal partners to house 1,000 people experiencing homelessness by the end of September.

An article in the CT Mirror discusses Connecticut’s looming housing crisis and the overwhelming need for rental assistance. About 1,100 people call each day seeking aid from Connecticut’s coronavirus housing assistance program. Only about 170 of the callers qualify for help under the program’s narrow eligibility parameters.

Delaware

Governor John Carney and the Delaware State Housing Authority announced the reopening of the Delaware Housing Assistance Program, which provides financial assistance for renters, and announced that emergency mortgage assistance is now available for homeowners who have missed payments. Delaware and New Castle County will contribute a combined $40 million in CARES Act funding to the rental and mortgage assistance programs.

Florida

In Duval County, 219 evictions were filed in court during the first week of August. On August 3, nearly 100 cases were filed, marking the start of the first full business week since Governor Ron DeSantis’ new limited eviction order was enacted. Governor DeSantis’ new order only stops final actions in eviction proceedings and requires tenants to prove that non-payment of rent is due to losses from the pandemic.

Georgia

More than 10,000 evictions have been on hold in metro Atlanta during the pandemic, but courts in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, and Cobb counties have either recently resumed landlord-tenant hearings or will resume hearings in the coming days. Fulton, usually considered Georgia’s busiest eviction court, has a backlog of over 9,000 cases and will hold virtual hearings, rather than in-person hearings, until at least November.

Hawaii

A letter to the editor in the Star Advertiser urges that no resident should be unsheltered in Hawaii.

Idaho

Hundreds of thousands of renters in the Idaho region are vulnerable to eviction.

Illinois

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is launching an emergency rental assistance program to help people who have been impacted by the pandemic. The state has set aside $150 million in CARES Act funding for rent relief, which is expected to assist about 30,000 renters. The executive director of IHDA said that the agency anticipates receiving far more applications than the state can assist.

In June, Illinois ranked third in the nation for rent deferrals. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 16-21 survey, 24% of Illinois renters deferred or did not pay rent for July. The state’s eviction moratorium is set to expire on August 22, meaning landlords can move forward with evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent.

Indiana

Governor Eric Holcomb announced on August 5 that he intends to allow Indiana’s moratoriums on evictions and utility shutoffs, including internet access, to expire on August 14. He announced that the state is adding $15 million to the $25 million rental assistance program.

The Indianapolis City-County Council added $7.5 million to its rental assistance program. The program was initially set at $15 million, but it was forced to shut down after three days due to high demand.

Indiana state leaders are working to determine how President Trump’s executive orders will impact low-income renters at risk of eviction. “President Donald Trump’s orders do not protect Hoosiers from evictions,” said Andrew Bradley of Prosperity Indiana. “Unless there is a moratorium put in place or real emergency rental assistance provided from Congress, somewhere between 569,000 to 720,000 Hoosiers could end up being evicted.”

Kentucky

WFPL reports on Kentucky’s looming eviction crisis. According to the national research firm Stout, 42% of renter households in Kentucky are at risk of eviction in the coming months. Adrienne Bush, executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, an NLIHC state partner, spoke about the urgent need for rental assistance.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire housing advocates are concerned that tenants who have applied to the state’s rental assistance program could be evicted before they receive aid. While the New Hampshire Housing Relief Program has received 4,701 inquiries and sent out 4,503 applications, only 1,385 completed applications have been submitted and only 139 applications have been approved.

New Jersey

Governor Phil Murphy announced on August 7 the creation of the Small Landlord Emergency Grant Program. The $25 million program, funded through the CARES Act and administered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, will provide emergency grant funding to small property owners for COVID-19 related decreases in rent revenue for a four-month period between April and July 2020.

New Jersey’s new grant program is expected to help small residential property owners who are often the most vulnerable in an economic crisis. There have been more than 15,000 evictions filed during the pandemic, and advocates expect that this number will grow in the coming months.

Ohio

A coalition of 182 businesses, hospitals, and advocacy groups have asked Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to invest $100 million of federal Coronavirus Relief Funds in emergency rental assistance, and an op-ed in the Akron Beacon Journal urges Governor DeWine to heed their advice.

Pennsylvania

A letter to the editor in the Sentinel outlines the urgent need for $100 billion in rental assistance and a nationwide eviction moratorium.

Puerto Rico

An op-ed in the Miami Herald discusses the significant challenges facing Puerto Rico’s disaster survivors as they struggle to recover – without long-overdue assistance – from Tropical Storm Isaias, the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Maria, and the devastating earthquakes. The op-ed outlines policy solutions to ensure that Puerto Rico’s disaster survivors receive the critical federal assistance that they need to recover.

South Carolina

NBC examines South Carolina’s looming eviction crisis as a result of the pandemic. Before COVID-19, South Carolina faced a long-term housing crisis and had the highest eviction rate in the country. According to Stout research, 52% of renter households in South Carolina are at risk of eviction, and NLIHC research indicates that the state’s rental assistance needs will grow to nearly $835 million.

The Sun News spoke with three Horry County residents facing housing insecurity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Virginia

Governor Ralph Northam announced on August 7 that the Virginia Supreme Court granted his request to extend the state’s eviction moratorium through September 7. Four of the court’s seven justices agreed to extend the moratorium.

Washington

A letter to the editor in the Spokesman-Review urges people to contact their Senators and demand that they pass the critical provisions in the House-passed HEROES Act. The author also asks Representative McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) to encourage Senate Republicans to enact the rent relief, eviction moratorium, unemployment assistance, and other relief funds that were included in the HEROES Act.

Wisconsin

An article in the Milwaukee Independent examines how the U.S. court system, which heavily favors landlords and offers few tenant protections, will exacerbate the COVID-19 housing crisis.

Guidance

Department of Housing and Urban Development

FR 6218-N-01 Notice of Program Rules, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements Under the CARES Act for CDBG Program Coronavirus Response Grants, FY19 & 20 CDBGs, and for Other Formula Programs - August 7, 2020

Eviction Prevention for At Risk Tenants: A Message to HUD Program Grantees -August 2020
COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Advancing Racial Equity through Assessments and Prioritization - August 11

COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Strategies for Eviction Prevention - August 11

COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Case Management Ratios - August 11

COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Justice Partnerships and Reentry Solutions - August 11

COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Targeted Rehousing Strategy Overview - August 11

COVID-19 Homeless System Response: High Acuity - Transition from Short-term to Long-term Subsidy - August 11

Department of Treasury

Coronavirus Relief Fund Frequently Asked Questions - Updated August 10

Internal Revenue Service

Economic Impact Payments and Coronavirus Tax Relief: A Toolkit for Partners - May 13

Economic Impact Payments: Toolkit for Non-Filer Outreach - July 10

State and Local Guidance
 
California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency: Guide to Strategic Uses of Key State and Federal Funds to Reduce Homelessness During the COVID-19 Pandemic