As Congress and the Biden Administration considers the makeup of the next COVID relief package, NMHC spearheaded a real estate coalition letter to Congress outlining the issues that are critical to the continued financial viability and stability of the rental housing industry. We also submitted comments for a House Financial Services Committee hearing entitled More than a Shot in the Arm: The Need for Additional COVID-19 Stimulus on February 4.
We urge policymakers to move beyond “one size fits all” federal housing policies in favor of a more tailored approach. Specifically, the “American Rescue Plan” proposes a continuation of previously passed policies that, without change, threaten the stability of the rental housing sector and would worsen the nation’s housing affordability crisis. A protracted extension of the federal eviction moratoriums fails to address the scope of damage in the housing sector and, in contrast to rental and other assistance, won’t meet the needs of renters and housing providers. Without additional robust, direct rental assistance – beyond the newly proposed $25 billion – housing providers may never fully recover outstanding debt – whether through the eviction process or otherwise – and the housing affordability crisis will be exacerbated in the long- and short-term. This could devastate the industry and hurt America’s most vulnerable renters.
In addition, as Treasury administers the $25 billion approved within the Consolidated Appropriations Act, we encourage they refrain from efforts to thwart the original congressional intent of the program and encourage Treasury and recipients of ERAP funds to implement the program in a manner consistent with congressional intent.
NMHC is closely monitoring the disbursement of the funds and continues to impress upon policymakers the importance of easily executable and expeditiously administered funds. Detailed industry recommendations provided to the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on January 7th and 28th are linked here and here. Access all Emergency Rental Assistance fund disbursements by visiting USAspending.gov.
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