Waters
and Heck Op-Ed: America Needs Emergency Rental Assistance Now
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WASHINGTON, D.C.
- Today, Congresswoman
Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial
Services Committee, and Congressman Denny Heck (D-WA), released an op-ed on
the need for emergency rental assistance during the pandemic crisis.
See
the full piece on Medium
or below.
America Needs Emergency Rental
Assistance Now
By Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial
Services Committee, and Congressman Denny Heck (D-WA)
When Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security
(CARES) Act in March, we took important steps to protect families who are
struggling to remain stably housed. For example, we placed a moratorium on
evictions for renters living in properties with federal housing subsidies or
federally backed mortgages, and ensured that most families across the country
will receive a check or direct deposit for $1,200 for each adult and $500 for
each child. However, since eviction moratorium only applies to certain rental
units with federal support, 75 percent of renters are not protected and
vulnerable to eviction during the crisis.
The crisis for renters has already started. According to a survey conducted
by Apartment List, more than 32 percent of renters were unable to fully pay
their rent at the beginning of June, with 20 percent being unable to pay
anything at all. The unemployment rate in May was 13.3 percent. The Urban
Institute has found that, under its worst case scenario, 17.6 million renter
households or 40 percent of all renters, would need rental assistance, which
would cost $96 billion to maintain for 6 months.
Evictions can have serious consequences for renters. In addition to losing
their homes, renters who cannot pay accrued back-rent will be subject to debt
collection and face long-term damage to their credit that could take years to
repair and make it next to impossible to rent a new unit. In January, before
the crisis, the Financial Services Committee heard heartbreaking testimony
from Mr. Jeffrey Williams who saw one eviction lead to two years of
homelessness.
Further, Black and Latino renters are especially vulnerable to the economic
effects of COVID-19. For example, Black and Latino renters are more likely to
be cost burdened (i.e. paying 30 percent or more of their income for rent)
with 55 percent of Black renter households and 54 percent of Latino renter
households experiencing moderate or severe cost burdens compared to 43
percent of White renter households. We were already facing a deplorable
racial wealth gap and a homelessness crisis in which over 60 percent of the
homeless population is Black or Latino, among other racial inequalities,
before the pandemic hit. If we fail to prevent this pending wave of
evictions, we will exacerbate the homelessness crisis and pending economic
downturn, and inflict avoidable hardship on countless families for years to
come with Black and Latino families feeling the brunt.
The national fair market average for renting a two-bedroom apartment renting
is $1,194. When you do the math, it becomes clear that the one-time $1,200
stimulus payment provided in the CARES Act is not enough to both pay rent and
meet other expenses during this crisis. It is especially insufficient for
people living in higher cost areas like the Los Angeles and Tacoma metro
areas where the fair market rent is $1,791 and $1,265, respectively.
Congress must act swiftly to build upon the CARES Act, including by funding
$100 billion in emergency rental assistance. By providing these funds, we
will not only prevent a huge wave of evictions but also shore up the finances
of America’s landlords.
That’s why we have advanced legislation to create a $100 billion emergency
rental assistance fund which would help renters experiencing financial
hardship during this pandemic pay their rent and utility bills. The program would
use the framework of an existing homeless assistance program called the
Emergency Solutions Grant program to distribute funds quickly to cities,
states, and counties to provide assistance to their residents and landlords.
Under the legislation, renters who cannot pay rent or utilities due to
hardship related to the pandemic would be able to apply for and receive
assistance for rent or utility bills, including any arrearages. Once a renter
qualifies for assistance, the local administering agency would send the
assistance payment directly to the landlord or utility company to cover the
amounts owed. This way, both renters and landlords get the help they need,
and evictions can be avoided.
This bill was part of the Heroes
Act, the COVID-19 response legislation passed by the
House of Representatives in May. It is also a part of the Emergency Housing
Protections and Relief Act, legislation containing the housing provisions
from the Heroes Act, which the House is voting on today due to the emergency
need for housing relief. Now we need the Senate to act and prevent a rental
housing crisis. America cannot afford to leave renters behind.
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