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Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Millions of Americans racing to get federal rental assistance before moratorium expires; see county-level map

"Millions of Americans are in a 'race against the clock' to receive rental assistance before the end of the month, when a federal eviction moratorium designed to help people cope during the coronavirus pandemic expires," Amanda Holpuch reports for The Guardian. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium ends on 30 June, and some states will still have local renter protections in place. But in the vast majority of states, rental assistance – an essential lifeline for millions – could arrive too late, according to housing advocates."

Some rural households may have a leg up in beating the clock: because of the way the assistance is being allocated, rural white residents are more likely to get emergency rent assistance, according to a USA Today analysis. See your state and county's rent debt on this interactive map by the University of Southern California's Equity Research Institute.

In mid-May, 7.49 million American adults said they were behind on rent or mortgage payments and weren't likely to be able to make the next month's payment, according to a Census Bureau survey. "So far, the eviction moratorium has kept many of these families housed. There were 1.55 million fewer eviction cases last year than would be filed in a typical year, according to an estimate by the Eviction Lab," Holpuch reports. "Without the moratorium, they will need access to the $46.55 billion in rental assistance allocated by the government to help renters and landlords – though its distribution got off to a slow start."

On President Trump's last day in office, the Treasury Department issued guidelines requiring applicants to provide more documentation to prove they qualified for the program. That made it more difficult for many to access the program. The Biden administration revised the guidelines in March and in May issued new rules that made application easier, Holpuch reports,

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