President Asks Congress to Extend the Eviction Moratorium
This week, President Biden called on Congress to extend the eviction moratorium set to expire on Saturday that prohibits property owners and managers nationwide from evicting certain tenants who fail to pay rent amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month, the Supreme Court allowed the order issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stay in place until July 31 but said congressional action would be needed to extend it past that date. In a statement released on Thursday, the White House announced that due to the recent spread of the Delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability. Lacking such a decision from the CDC, President Biden asked the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs to extend their respective eviction moratoria through the end of September, to provide continued protection for households living in federally insured, single-family properties. The President also asked these and other departments to do everything in their power to ensure and assist owners and operators of federally-assisted and financed rental housing in seeking Emergency Rental Assistance to make themselves whole while keeping families in secure and safe housing – before moving toward eviction. Finally, the President urged states and localities that received Emergency Rental Assistance – including through the American Rescue Plan – to urgently accelerate their efforts to disburse these funds given the imminent ending of the CDC eviction moratorium. With some cities and states demonstrating their ability to release these funds efficiently to tenants and landlords in need, President Biden said there can be no excuse for any state or locality not to promptly deploy the resources that Congress appropriated.
In response to President Biden’s request that Congress enact an eviction moratorium, Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), sent a letter today to her caucus requesting support for extending the eviction moratorium for COVID-affected renter households until October 18, 2021. This would coincide with the public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of Health, likewise, slated to expire on October 18. Additionally, on Thursday, Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), introduced H.R. 4791, the Protecting Renters from Evictions Act of 2021. The Chairwoman’s bill would extend the eviction moratorium until December 31, 2021. Reaction to the proposed extensions have been mixed – moderates Democrats insist the extension shouldn’t go beyond September 30th, while other members are wondering why the Speaker would force a vote on a bill that can’t pass out of the Senate (it would need support from 10 Republicans in addition to all 50 Democrats). At the time of publication, neither bill had enough support to pass out of the House. If the House cannot obtain the votes needed within the next several hours, they will go to August recess without voting on an extension to the federal eviction moratorium.
To view the press release on the Biden-Harris Administration eviction prevention efforts, click here. To view the press release from Chairwoman Waters on the introduction of H.R. 4791, click here.
House Passes T-HUD, Agriculture Funding Bills
This week, the full House of Representatives approved a package of fiscal year 2022 appropriations bills. The legislation funds several government agencies, including the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture. For fiscal year 2022, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) provides a total of $56.5 billion for HUD – an increase of $6.8 billion above fiscal year 2021 and $314 million below the President’s 2022 budget request. The 2022 T-HUD funding bill provides $14 billion for Project-based Rental Assistance to continue to house more than 1.2 million very low- and low-income households nationwide, an increase of $545 million above fiscal year 2021. An additional $1 billion is provided for Section 202 (Housing for the Elderly) to build approximately 2,200 new affordable housing units for low-income seniors and $352 million for Section 811 (Housing for Persons with Disabilities) to construct approximately 1,800 new affordable housing units for persons with disabilities. The bill also provides $29.2 billion for Tenant-based Rental Assistance to continue to serve more than 2.3 million very low- and extremely low-income households nationwide. This level of funding also includes $1 billion to expand housing assistance to more than 125,000 low-income families, including individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including survivors of domestic violence and veterans. A combined $25 million is provided for the HUD/VA Supportive Housing for Homeless Veterans and Native American Veterans programs and $8.64 billion is included for Public Housing, which is $834 million above fiscal year 2021, including $3.4 billion to meet the full annual capital accrual need to improve the quality and safety of public housing for more than 2 million residents. Increased investments to revitalize low-income housing and distressed communities were also included by providing $400 million for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, which represents an increase of $200 million above fiscal year 2021. $200 million was also provided to self-sufficiency programs to increase supportive services for HUD-assisted households to improve their connections to jobs, healthcare, and educational opportunities, an increase of $45 million above the fiscal year 2021.
The funding bill also includes $10.6 billion for Community Planning and Development, an increase of $2.3 billion above fiscal year 2021, including $3.7 billion for Community Development Block Grants, an increase of $265 million above fiscal year 2021. This also includes $1.85 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program which has helped preserve approximately 1.33 million affordable homes, an increase of $500 million above fiscal year 2021, and includes $50 million for a new down payment assistance program to help first-time, first-generation home buyers purchase a home. $100 million was provided for Housing Counseling assistance for renters, homeowners, and those considering homeownership and $185 million for Policy Development and Research, including $20 million to continue legal aid assistance for eviction prevention, a combined increase of $102.5 million above fiscal year 2021. The House bill also sought to increase enforcement in fair housing by providing $85 million for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, an increase of $12 million above the fiscal year 2021 and equal to the President’s budget request. $460 million for the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, an increase of $100 million above fiscal year 2021, including $60 million to conduct lead inspections in Section 8 voucher units.
To view a summary of the T-HUD funding bill, click here. To view the committee fact sheet on the bill, click here.
The 2022 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill provides $26.55 billion – an increase of $2.8 billion– above the 2021 level. For rural development and infrastructure programs, the bill provides more than $4.695 billion in funding. These programs will seek to help create an environment for economic growth by providing business, housing opportunities, and building sustainable rural infrastructure for the modern economy. A total of $1.495 billion is provided for rental assistance and rental vouchers for affordable rental housing for low-income families and the elderly in rural communities to renew all existing rental assistance contracts. $230 million is provided for Section 538 Multifamily Guaranteed Loans and $40 billion for Section 515 Multifamily Direct Loans. $60 million was provided for the Rental Preservation Demonstration program and $45 million for the Section 542 Rural Housing Vouchers, an increase of $40 million from last year’s level. Additionally, the bill provides a total of $30 billion in loan authority for the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. The bill includes $1.5 billion in direct single family housing loans, meeting the estimated need for these loans, which provide home loan assistance to low-income rural families, many of whom would have few loan options for purchasing a home because of their geographical location. The legislation also provides $907 million for rural broadband, an increase of $165 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, in the expansion of broadband service to provide economic development opportunities and improved education and healthcare services. This includes $800 million for the Re-Connect program. Investments in broadband reflect a commitment to provide Americans in rural communities with ways to access digital tools necessary to improve health, educational, and economic outcome. Since 2019, more than 200,000 rural residents have gained access to broadband through these programs.
To view a summary of the Agriculture funding bill, click here. To view the committee fact sheet on the bill, click here.
House COVID-19 Oversight Subcommittee Hearing On Pandemic Evictions
This week, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus held a hearing examining multiple large corporate property managers and owners that moved to evict large numbers of their tenants over the course of the pandemic despite the CDC eviction moratorium and the availability of rental assistance funds. The hearing, Oversight Of Pandemic Evictions: Assessing Abuses By Corporate Landlords And Federal Efforts To Keep Americans In Their Homes, also focused on increased federal efforts to aid struggling renters affected by the pandemic and discussed the need for additional federal actions to further encourage state and local governments to adopt best practices in distributing the $46 billion in federal rental assistance funds while preventing evictions. Representative James Clyburn (D-SC), chairman of the subcommittee, sent letters earlier this month to four companies requesting information about their high rates of evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the hearing, members discussed how these companies have filed to evict tenants who have submitted CDC declarations to obtain moratorium protection and tenants who have applied for or received offers of rental assistance funds to pay back rent. “Some landlords have acted responsibly during the pandemic, complying fully with eviction moratoria and working cooperatively with tenants to obtain federal rental assistance funds, but those large landlord companies that have moved to evict people aggressively have had a substantial negative impact on struggling American families” said Chairman Clyburn.
To watch the full subcommittee oversight hearing or to view the written witness testimony, click here.