The link between neighborhood poverty and health: Context or composition?. Continues Encampment Cleanups During The Pandemic Despite CDC Guidance, DCist, October 15, 2020, available at, Theresa Clift, Sacramento police still clearing homeless CDC coronavirus guidelines discourage it,, Jakob Rodgers, Sweeps Of Homeless Camps Run Counter To COVID Guidance And Pile On Health Risks, KHN, June 26, 2020, available at, Marisa Westbrook and Tony Robinson, Unhealthy by design: health & safety consequences of the criminalization of homelessness,, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Interim Guidance on People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness., Movement for Black Lives, What Is the BREATHE Act?, available at, Movement for Black Lives, Section 3: Allocating New Money To Build Healthy, Sustainable & Equitable Communities for All People, available at, National Alliance to End Homelessness, The Framework for an Equitable COVID-19 Homelessness Response, available at, Executive Office of the President, Executive Order 13950: Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, Press release, September 22, 2020, available at, National Council of Nonprofits, The Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, available at, U.S. Department of Justice, The Fair Housing Act, available at, National Fair Housing Alliance, Furthering Fair Housing, available at. Explore guides to help you plan for big financial goals. if(subscribe.checkValidity()) { subscribe.submit(); People of color, who have faced higher rates of lost employment during the pandemic,10 continue to be disproportionately cost-burdened and at increased risk of eviction.11. We offer free counseling to landlords to support owner and tenant stabilization. Therefore, a national, comprehensive moratorium on evictions should be extended past the pandemic to ensure that renters are able to remain housed. Defining and measuring housing stability. (2007). Learn about our sister organization, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, an advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans. How stable is stable? Last full review by a subject matter expert December 02, 2021 Last revised by staff December 02, 2021 Rate Then you must use the money to pay the landlord or utility yourself. Starting May 7, 2021, landlords who accept direct payments of future rent are not allowed to evict you for not paying rent during the period covered by the rental assistance. Past Due Rent & Late Fees - It is likely that you are applying to this program because you are behind on your rent and/or have late fees. Housing Policy Debate, 26(1), 172187. Based on conversations with grantees and tenants, it can be difficult to describe and document financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As described in Treasury's FAQs, grantees must determine who is eligible to receive rental assistance. However, housing is rarely constructed with multigenerational families in mind, and the supply does not meet the growing demand.13 Latinx, Native American, and Asian individuals, who increasingly live in multigenerational households,14 disproportionately live in overcrowded rental units that are not large enough or are not constructed for larger households.15 A benefit of living in a multigenerational household is that it increases household resources,16 which can serve as a safety net and lift families out of poverty.17 However, without adequate and affordable rental units designed and constructed to fit a range of families needs, the cultural, social, and economic benefits of living in multigenerational households are less available. National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University. Published by Articulate Storyline www.articulate.com If youre a landlord, youmay think ofrental assistanceashelp for renters. Long entrenched, racially targeted policies and practices at the local, state, and national levels have led to discriminatory practices and disparities in rental housing.4 The Fair Housing Act (FHA) of 1968 prohibits discrimination against applicants and tenants based on various identities, including race.5 Yet despite the FHA and its amendments, overt and subtle racial discrimination still occurs. We also use the term Latinx, which includes a person or group of people with origins in Latin American. Units must undergo inspection to ensure compliance with HUD habitability standards before assistance can be paid. Housing Policy Debate, 26(1), 80104. Housing instability and food insecurity as barriers to health care among low-income Americans. Yes. https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance. The question Did you pay your last months rent or mortgage on time? (Question 30) was asked in Phase 1 of the HPS, which includes weeks 1 through 12 (April 23 to July 21, 2020). Receipt due to past (see Figures 1 and 2) With communities of color also navigating the collective pain of higher rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths,30 they must face additional medical and funeral costs in addition to potential lost employer-sponsored health insurance and reduced household income due to unemploymentor worse, the loss of an income-earners life. New England Journal of Medicine, 365(16), 15091519. But right now,most federal emergency rental assistance programs accept applications from landlords. If you dont have a signed rental agreement or lease, local programs may accept proof of your address and a written statement about your rent, such as: You may also be able to show your rental payment amount with: If you give a written statement, local programs may require you to certify that you did not receive and dont expect to get help from a different source to cover the same rental costs. Find out if emergency rental assistance applies to your special situation. Landlords in the private market can lease their apartments to families in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. Acceptable documentation for this can include the following: hbbd```b``+dd="J^09DB`Rd DI%`@?H1d`$$2@ uY Talk to your landlord. Conor Dougherty and Gillian Friedman, Theyre Making the Rent. WebThe household must also be able to demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability to qualify. This includes developing and expanding programs, workshops, and trainings that develop racial equity capacity-building through agencies such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. E[n5zw %y_Tld2et8@T ``^EX, ( 6Cp{ &!FI$,R Affording housing at the expense of health: Exploring the housing and neighborhood strategies of poor families. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2020_Report_Revised_120720.pdf, Crowley, S. (2003). The use of fact-specific proxy describes the scenario where a grantee re-affirms a tenant's income self-attestation by cross-referencing it with income data about a particular population and/or a particular geographic area. Although housing discrimination based on race and other identities is illegal, other barriers to housing security that disproportionately affect communities of color must be addressed. If your landlord normally pays for utilities or home energy costs, these are counted as part of your rent. WebProof of Housing Instability Acceptable Documents may include: Disconnected Utility Notice Self-Declaration of Homelessness Self-Declaration of Housing Instability Identification of When you apply for emergency rental help, be ready to show an agreement signed by you and your landlord that shows where you live and your rental payment amount. Either way, you must then use the money to pay what you owe. http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Renters_in_Foreclosure_2012.pdf [PDF 428 KB], Busacker, A., & Kasehagen, L. (2012). JAMA Internal Medicine, 173(3), 189195. This includes help paying for future utility or energy bills, even if you owe money for existing or overdue bills. doi: 10.1177/0002716213479310, Fowler, K. A., Gladden, R. M., Vagi, K. J., Barnes, J., & Frazier, L. (2015). Although new rental construction is currently on the rise, more rental units are being built with the high-income market in mind, whereas the supply of low-cost rental units continues to decline dramatically as housing instability increases.105 Worse yet, few rental units are accessible106 or constructed to fit the needs or lifestyles of multigenerational families.107 Moreover, exclusionary zoning policies that concentrate racialized poverty and foster segregation must be banned, and investments must be made in affordable, accessible housing that gives residents a choice of where to live and that works for a diverse range of families.108. This generally includes renter households with income up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), with adjustments for family size. http://www.nber.org/mtopublic, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Check with your local program for details. A Tribal member living outside Tribal lands can receive emergency rental help funds from their Tribe or Tribally Designated Housing Entity (TDHE), as long as you are not already receiving assistance from another Tribe or TDHE, or from a state or local government. Renters and landlords can find out what emergency rental assistance covers, how it works, and whos eligible on the interagency housing portal hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Housing instability also affects the Browse all evidence-based resources. It utilizes progressive disclosure, only showing applicable sections. These three statements also need to be true: Eligibility is based on a renter households financial situation and housing needs. https://www.hud.gov/programdescription/mto, Chetty, R., Hendren, N., & Katz, L. F. (2016). However, housing discrimination policies that disproportionately affect people of color, such as barring people with criminalized records from renting or obtaining housing vouchers,7 are still legal; and other discriminatory practices, such as landlords showing families of color fewer rental options,8 still occur with little tracking or accountability. The HPS only collects data in English and Spanish. Neighborhood characteristics can strongly influence health. `HU9xB4O7003p;X$hkboii`s:i@ZDc*@ HB3 (2015). Including a section on past assistance that was received from other programs can help identify and prevent any overlap in assistance given to the applicant. hb``` 7@(1)"1@ k? When you apply for emergency rental help, you will be asked to show that your income is eligible and that youre experiencing housing instability. Recent analysis estimates that the amount of back rent owed may reach as much as $34 billion by years end, with more than 20 million renters8 million householdsfacing possible eviction by January 2021.31 Renters of color disproportionately report being behind on rent, (see Figure 3) and unpaid rent continues to grow. Some programs offer help with future rent. In other cases, your local program might give you the money right away, without first contacting your landlord. 0 If a tenant has a lease or a letter from their landlord theres no need to ask for further documentation. 102 0 obj <> endobj The questions and answers above are based on the Department of the Treasurys revised Frequently Asked Questions on emergency rental assistance (ERA) . For more detailed information on how to legally respond to an eviction notice, and the possible court proceedings, visit our eviction process overview page. We will be happy to walk you through the process. `Fr4S;D1 (June 29, 2020), available at, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Register Notice: Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19, available at, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (Form) Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Temporary Halt in Evictions To Prevent Further Spread of COVID-19 (Atlanta: 2020), available at, Peter Hepburn and Renee Louis, Preliminary Analysis: Shifts in Eviction Filings from the CARES Act to the CDC Order, The Eviction Lab, September 22, 2020, available at, Chris Arnold, Despite A New Federal Ban, Many Renters Are Still Getting Evicted, NPR, September 14, 2020, available at, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS/CDC Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19, available at, National Low Income Housing Coalition, State and Local Rental Assistance, available at, Ann OConnell, Emergency Bans on Evictions and Other Tenant Protections Related to Coronavirus, Nolo, available at, Ally Schweitzer, Legal Evictions Are Banned In D.C. Amid Pandemic, But Invisible Ones Are On The Rise, NPR, October 16, 2020, available at, Anna Lamb, Tenants Union organizes protest against soft evictions citing local landlords, The Ithaca Voice, October 6, 2020, available at, Clark Merrefield, Eviction: The physical, financial and mental health consequences of losing your home, Journalists Resource, August 3, 2020, available at, Lexington Law, How Long Does an Eviction Stay on Your Record, January 15, 2020, available at, Lori Sonken, Eviction is a cause, not just a condition of poverty,, Robert Collinson and Davin Reed, The Effects of Evictions on Low-Income Households (2018), available at, Joy Moses, State of Homelessness: A Look at Race and Ethnicity, National Alliance to End Homelessness, May 27, 2020, available at, National Homelessness Law Center, No Safe Place: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities (Washington: 2019), available at, Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, Effects of Homelessness on Families and Children (New York: 2015), available at, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Homelessness as a Public Health Law Issue: Selected Resources, available at, National Homelessness Law Center, Protect Tenants, Prevent Homelessness (Washington: 2018), available at, National Homelessness Law Center, No Safe Place; Caitlin A. Carey, Anti-Homeless Ordinances in American Cities (Minneapolis: Urban Affairs Association 47th Conference, 2017), available at, Chris Herring, Dilara Yarbrough, and Lisa Marie Alatorre, Pervasive Penalty: How the Criminalization of Poverty Perpetuates Homelessness,, Meghan Henry and others, The 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress (Washington: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2017), available at, National Homelessness Law Center, No Safe Place: Advocacy Manual (Washington: 2019), available at, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Interim Guidance on People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness, available at, Christian Zapata, D.C. Rent burden, housing subsidies and the well-being of children and youth. Gove, W. R., Hughes, M., & Galle, O. R. (1979). In cases where tenants are faced with eviction, investments should be made in further preventive eviction diversion programs. The state of the nations housing 2014. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country. 142 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<799FA322036BFF4EB5D08B547890302D><56F5DCEFE7776347BFDDD61E12C4047F>]/Index[102 75]/Info 101 0 R/Length 146/Prev 158116/Root 103 0 R/Size 177/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream This would require using AMI data from sources such as: This example involves confirming income eligibility by relying on the applicant's participation in other income-tested federal or state assistance programs. endstream endobj startxref But this depends on your local program. check with your local program for details, Reasonable late fees (if not included in your rental or utility debt), Moving expenses and other rental-related fees (such as security deposits, application fees, or screening fees) for families who have to move, You had to move out of your home and you dont have a permanent home elsewhere, You can provide hotel or motel bills or other evidence of your stay, and, Your local program follows the rules for this emergency rental assistance. Local programs are also allowed to use some emergency rental assistance funds to help you with other expenses related to your housing, such as reasonable late fees, as well as costs for internet service that allows you to engage in distance learning, telework, telemedicine, and getting government services. doi: 10.1080/10511482.2015.1020321, Bailey, K. T., Cook, J. T., Ettinger de Cuba, S., Casey, P. H., Chilton, M., Coleman, S. M., & Frank, D. A. Kushel, M. B., Gupta, R., Gee, L., & Haas, J. S. (2006). As a result, more renters are turning to savings,32 retirement,33 and the newly accepted rental payment method by many landlordscredit cards.34 These methods of staying afloat that so many are now turning to plant the seeds of future financial struggle, as many diminish personal emergency funds and increase debt as individuals and families try to stay housed.35 Tenant advocate groups, researchers, and agencies across the country have identified eviction as a perpetuator of poverty,36 a driver of homelessness,37 and a public health crisis.38, In response to the coronavirus pandemic, some emergency housing protections have been taken at the local, state, and federal levels. (2011). Recovery for many individuals and families will extend well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing. doi: 10.2307/3211288. American Sociological Review, 44(1), 5980. Find Rental Assistance Programs in Your Area, Take Action To Avoid Eviction Using the CDC Order, Start a Conversation About Rent Repayment, Protections for Renters in Multi-family Housing or Federally Subsidized Housing. (2009). Is it Costing Their Future?, Kim Parker, Rachel Minkin, and Jesse Bennet, Economic Fallout From COVID-19 Continues To Hit Lower-Income Americans the Hardest, Pew Research Center, September 24, 2020, available at, Zego, May Rent Payment Data Reveals April Trends Have Continued as a Result of COVID-19, May 13, 2020, available at, Morgan Baskin, As Eviction Bans Expire, Renters Turn to Credit Cards, Talk Poverty, July 15, 2020, available at, Matthew Desmond, Unaffordable America: Poverty, Housing, and Eviction,, American Heart Association News, Best way to end homelessness and its health impact? WebProof of Identity Person whose ID is provided must be on the lease ID of any form (U.S. or non), ideally with photo or signature Proof of Housing Instability (any of the following): Past Due Rent Utility Notice Court Case Paperwork Evidence of Unsafe/Unhealthy Living Conditions Income Verification (any of the following): Been, V., & Glashausser, A. (n.d.) Rental assistance. %PDF-1.6 % How do I apply for emergency rental assistance? WebIf a tenant has a lease or a letter from their landlord theres no need to ask for further documentation. Applying for rental assistance may stop the clock on the eviction process if you have a case in Housing Court. In addition, you may get help with your future rent payments, up to 3 months at a time. Local programs have different requirements, so check with your local program for details. Check with your local program to find out if theyre using this flexibility. For example, tenant-landlord mediation programs that intervene once an eviction is threatened or filed can explore options and negotiate solutions prior to court involvement to ultimately prevent an eviction.92 A mediation program in Palo Alto, California, reports that 80 percent of mediation cases are able to be resolved outside the court.93 If an eviction filing does occur, guaranteeing renters a right to counsel can also help to keep them housed.94 In eviction proceedings, approximately 90 percent of landlords have legal representation, compared with just 10 percent of tenants.95 This vast inequality in resources leads to the majority of tenants losing these cases. As early as April 2020, 32 percent of Black adults and 41 percent of Latinx adults experienced job loss due to the pandemic, compared with only 24 percent of white adults.26 Black and Latina women have seen the largest drop in their employment-to-population ratios since February, with Black women in particular seeing jobs come back at a rate that is 1 1/2 times slower than that of white women.27 Although all racial and ethnic groups have faced record unemployment, the Black-white unemployment gap has persisted throughout the pandemic.28 For Asian Americanswho have been particularly targeted by racist responses to the coronavirus crisisunemployment rates have soared to 11 percent in July, compared with 3 percent during the previous year, and they remain historically high as the pandemic continues.29. Cutts, D. B., Meyers, A. F., Black, M. M., Casey, P. H., Chilton, M., Cook, J. T., & Frank, D. A. Where applicable, these examples have been listed in the order of preference. (2013). Asking for the total amount that the tenant owes for the utility allows all fees needed to maintain that utility to be included. Advancing Racial Equity and Justice, Building an Economy for All, Strengthening Health, Affordable Housing, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Poverty, Racial Equity and Justice, Racial Wealth Gap+6More, Associate Director, State and Local Government Affairs, Senior Director, Safety and Justice Campaign; Director, State and Local Government Affairs. If they do not agree, or if they do not respond within seven days (or within five days, if the program contacts your landlord by phone, text, or e-mail), your local program may be able to give the money to you. American Journal of Public Health, 97(3), 464469. Lost and reduced income has worsened already difficult situations for many. It is clear that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting renters of color differently, exacerbating past inequality, and leading the path to a future of worsening inequality. We help tenants in housing crisis due to fire, natural disaster, eviction, or condemnation. If you have a disability, dont have access to technology, or have other special needs, a local program may be flexible about the proof they require. } The author would like to thank Areeba Haider and Justin Schweitzer for their fact-checking assistance; Alexandra Cawthorne Gaines, Taryn Williams, and the Race and Ethnicity Policy, Economic Policy, Government Affairs, and Executive teams, as well as the Womens Initiative and Poverty to Prosperity Program, for their review; and CAPs Editorial, Art, and Press teams for their guidance. This HEROES package originally included key protections, such as $100 billion in emergency rental assistance, a uniform federal moratorium on evictions, and $11.5 billion in homelessness aidsupports that were responsive to the direct asks of advocates, experts, and critical-need communities. This example illustrates progressive disclosure, by revealing one question at a time, dependent on the previous answer the applicant provided. During this time between protections in late August, many cities saw historical spikes in the number of evictions being filed, with increases as high as 118 percent above normal.51 But even after the CDCs halt, local courts were still carrying out evictions for many families.52 And though the halt on evictions may help some tenants, the Trump administration issued guidance in October that further burdened struggling renters by allowing landlords to challenge renters declaration of eligibilitya declaration that tenants already provide under penalty of perjuryand proceed with eviction filing.53. Visit Benefits.gov for more information about Emergency Solutions Grants. if(subscribe.checkValidity()) { Ilhan Omar Introduces Bill to Cancel All Rent and Mortgage Payments During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Press release, April 17, 2020, available at, Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020, H.R. This example shows a way to structure the rent assistance portion of an application. Hardships disproportionately faced by communities of color are being exacerbated by the pandemic and require an equitable recovery that reconciles past harms while also providing solutions for current and future challenges. Blake, K. S., Kellerson, R. L., & Simic, A. Applying for rental assistance may stop the clock on the eviction process if you have a case in Housing Court. Or, you might qualify for a hardship exemption that allows you to skip one or more rent payments. As frameworks such as those in the BREATHE Act specify, those communities most affected by both past harms and the current pandemic must be included at all levels of policy and decision-making. If you need help paying your past and future rent, apply for rental assistance today. Neighborhoods, obesity, and diabetes a randomized social experiment. Journal of Family Issues, 37(7), 921946. WebDocumentation/proof of Housing Instability due to COVID-19 financial hardship. Despite the success of rental assistance, roughly 16 million low-income households that need rental assistance (that is, households that spend more than 30 Housing costs exceed 50% of the current household income. @ The twelve months of payments can be used to cure arrears and/or pay current housing costs. Renters in foreclosure: A fresh look at an ongoing problem. When moratoriums on evictions do expire, renters will face an accumulation of owed back rent. The change in rent could apply to unpaid rent. Remarks by Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Rosenberg for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the Association of Women in International Trade. start with the rental assistance programforyour state, tribe, or localarea. The City supports landlords who rent to Boston residents moving out of homelessness. Including a list of the potential months helps applicants think through each month. Proof of income qualification; Examples of acceptable forms of each document type are provided below. These filings are then reflected negatively on tenants credit reports and public records.59 When a tenant is evicted, loss of housing can fuel cycles of multigenerational poverty.60, Across their lifetime, 1 in 5 Black women are evicted, compared with 1 in 15 white women.61 The threat of eviction is a stressful event with negative health impacts.62 Even if housing is not lost, the eviction process can have negative effects on the health of household members. Local emergency rental assistance programs must prioritize applications for renter households with income below 50% of the AMI and households with a worker who has been unemployed for at least 90 days before applying. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020. If you meet the requirements, emergency rental assistance is available to help you with housing costs that you cannot afford as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Webhousing as a core social determinant of personal health and well-being; and substantial evidence that housing stability is essential for people to address their challenges and To ensure an equitable recovery from this pandemic, past harms and current hardships faced by communities of color must be reconciled. sky~.:dcUW$P# 8h$oGo-4j$UI Pedc=MG_O[Zuw*TC;@gRR@ The simplest way to capture a tenants rental obligation is with a current lease or an equivalent letter from their landlord. Protecting programs that include a race-conscious approach means vetoing harmful actions such as the recent Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,85 which will punish government contractors and nonprofits who provide trainings on race and sex diversity, equity, and inclusion by withholding federal grants for these lifesaving programs.86 It also means protecting the FHA87 and reviving the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provisions that combat housing discrimination and promote community participation.88.