As unemployment figures grow alarmingly, the need to safeguard housing for millions of vulnerable Americans must be a priority for Congress as it considers its next stimulus bill.
Many tenants struggled to make their rent payments on April 1. While some may have been able to dip into savings or were employed in March, the most severe impacts of the economic shutdown on payments are likely to come. May collections will likely be down further, and June could be worse. There is still time for officials to get rental assistance out the door now, before people become housing unstable or homeless.
Financial hardship causes unbearable stress for tenants having to decide among paying for housing, food or medicine. Foregoing rent in turn creates uncertainty for property owners, who use those dollars to support their staff, clean and maintain their buildings and pay their real estate taxes, which in many places fund essential services like police, firefighters and, yes, health care workers. The domino effect puts entire cities at further risk.
Many of the solutions to the emerging housing crises, both proposed and enacted, don’t actually go far enough to serve those in need. Eviction moratoriums, enacted across the country, have been critical for enabling low-income residents to stay in their homes amid the pandemic. But this solution is temporary and once state governments lift these moratoriums, many families will be thrust into legal conflicts and, eventually, homelessness.
Proposed rent freeze legislation would be beneficial for renters struggling to make ends meet, but would transfer a sizable financial burden onto property owners and related organizations already experiencing a loss of income due to the severe economic downturn. What’s needed is an emergency rental assistance program that would help defend both tenants and property owners against further financial difficulties as the pandemic continues.
Stimulus funding should be prioritized to stabilize the housing market by providing emergency rental assistance, with adequate resources allotted for state and local governments in a timely and efficient manner.
Emergency rental assistance provides rental support for tenants who need it most during uncertain economic times. Guaranteed rental income also allows property owners to maintain spaces for tenants, keep building workers employed and pay their own bills.
The federal government can designate additional funding to the Department of Housing and Urban Development rental assistance programs, including the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, ESG (Emergency Solutions Grant Program) and CDBG (Community Development Block Grants).
After 9/11, the federal government saved many New Yorkers by allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide mortgage and rental assistance, as well as individual and family housing grants. FEMA’s targeted program ensured resources went to individuals impacted by the attacks. We need a similar, targeted approach today. Those who can still pay rent must continue to do so. Relief should flow to those who are most in need.
It’s also crucial that tenants be able to pay rent with all lawful sources of income. Populations particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, including the elderly, persons living with disabilities, domestic violence survivors and persons experiencing homelessness, frequently face discrimination when they try to pay rent with non-wage forms of income, including veterans or disability benefits, Section 8 vouchers or child support. Such discrimination is illegal in New York and 17 other states; it’s more important than ever before that these measures are strictly enforced. .
Without emergency assistance, the financial and health burdens communities suffer will grow starker, as many residents risk losing their homes and housing providers risk losing their businesses. We implore Congress to provide for the entire housing ecosystem, ensuring safe, healthy homes at a time when their need has never been clearer.
Priscilla Almodovar
Enterprise Community Partners
1 Whitehall Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10004
palmodovar@enterprisecommunity.org
212-284-7183
James Whelan
Real Estate Board of New York
570 Lexington Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10022
jwhelan@rebny.com
212-616-5200
