U.S. Treasury expects rental aid to reach $25-30 billion by year-end

Reuters

Published Nov 29, 2021 04:52PM ET

Updated Nov 29, 2021 06:01PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - State and local governments distributed more than $2.8 billion in emergency rental assistance funds to more than 521,000 renters in October, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday, forecasting that $25 billion to $30 billion in such funds would be spent or obligated by the end of the year.

The Treasury said its efforts over the last six months to give state and local governments more flexibility in distributing the funds had helped accelerate the flow to renters in need, after slow early progress.

In its latest update on the program, the Treasury said more than 2.5 million payments had been made to renters.

For ERA 1 alone, the Treasury estimates that at least 80% of the program’s funding will be spent or obligated by year-end, nine months before the deadline for grantees to spend their initial allocations.

As of the end of October, more than 100 state and local governments receiving grants had expended 95% or more of their funds, and nearly 130 grantees had begun to spend their ERA 2 funds.

The Treasury said it had begun to reallocate unused funds, but said it expected only a limited amount to be available, given the rapid pace of improvement in the ERA programs.

The Treasury is also encouraging states and localities to use other sources of funds, including the $350 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, to provide additional support to renters.