Across the country, as the pandemic rages on, tens of thousands of tenants struggle to pay their rent due to income loss. Some $3.43 billion was available in July for federal rental relief aid. However, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies, some $34 billion was still owed in rent dating back to January 2021 across the country.
Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen had this to say back in February about the state’s novel rental relief programs: “It was sort of a patchwork of programs ... there was a lot of experimentation — some successful, some not.”
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state would spend $100 million to help tenants in need pay back-rent and avoid evictions. The money could have been used to help around 100,000 people, but only 15,000 received any money. Among the applicants, 57,000 were denied.
Bonny Ginnet, a 66-year-old massage therapist in New York City who owed $26,000 in back-rent, applied in July for the relief program. She found out she was later denied in October because she failed to prove a loss in income. “It’s a well-meaning program and probably should and ought to be fixed, but it’s hard to say because of how much overload their system experienced and might still be experiencing,” she said, according to the Associated Press.
Across the country, the same story keeps coming up. States are not spending the money they received on rental relief.
Louisiana received $24 million in rental assistance but only spent $2.3 million on 956 residents. Pennsylvania spent a total of $64 million on housing assistance out of the $175 million it had on hand. Mississippi received $18 million in rental relief but only spent $3 million by December.
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