U.S. Treasury disbursed $2.8 billion in rental aid in November
Reuters
Published Jan 07, 2022 01:44PM ET
Updated Jan 07, 2022 03:40PM ET
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it disbursed about $2.9 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance funds to 665,000 renters and landlords during November, putting the program on pace for full-year 2021 obligations of $25 billion-$30 billion.
The Treasury also said it disbursed $1.1 billion to communities deemed eligible for more funds as part of a reallocation process started at the end of September. More than three quarters of these transfers were accomplished through voluntary transfers between communities in the same state.
Rental assistance funding of $46.5 billion was approved in two COVID-19 aid bills in December 2020 and March 2021. But the locally administered program was slow to ramp up, with some jurisdictions taking longer to launch programs and others facing less demand from renters and landlords.
Communities that had obligated at least 65% of their first-round allocation were eligible for additional funds, while those allocating less than 30% stood to lose funds.
Many communities were seeking ways to boost their performance to avoid having funding allocations shifted elsewhere.
The biggest recipient of a voluntary transfer was Indianapolis, receiving $91.45 million from Indiana's statewide allocation, according to Treasury data. Milwaukee County received $50 million from Wisconsin's statewide allocation, while the city of Milwaukee received $61 million and the city of Madison received $35 million.
The Treasury said communities seeking funds from the second reallocation round had until Jan. 21 to do so.
"Treasury is 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 – as several communities are already doing," the department said.
November marked a new high for disbursements and the third straight month above $2.8 billion and 500,000 recipients.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.