Hundreds of thousands of American tenants lost a critical legal safeguard when the countrywide eviction ban was repealed.
The United States Supreme Court recently overturned an eviction restriction. This now means that landlords throughout the nation to proceed with evictions without restraint.
The Eviction Ban is Over
Even while the federal moratorium was in effect, the eviction prohibition was not standard across the board. The moratorium was not enacted in every state in the United States. And not all tenants were aware of the order or how to benefit from it. Therefore, it didn’t reach as many people as it should have.
Although the federal eviction moratorium is no longer in effect, if you have been unable to pay your rent or your utilities due to the epidemic and are facing eviction, you may be eligible for a personal government bailout.
Rent Help Still Remains
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the federal eviction moratorium, another program remains. A first-of-its-kind, $47 billion government rental assistance program, which covers energy bills and up to 18 months of rent for tenants who have been unable to pay due to the pandemic’s financial effects, is still in place.
The federal program has been hampered by regulations and rules and red tape and has been far too slow to get off the ground since its creation last year, but authorities are working to make it simpler for hard-hit tenants and landlords to collect money they are entitled to. There are many tools available to assist individuals in determining where and how to apply.
How to Get Rent Help
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has built a website where people may input their location. This way they can get contact information for the local organization that administers the assistance in their area.
Another website, run by the nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition, provides details on the 493 state and local agencies that distribute the aid, including which agencies allow renters to simply state that the pandemic has caused them financial hardship and that they have lost income, or that they meet other eligibility requirements. Applicants in certain states are required to provide papers. This includes leases and pay stubs to establish that they fit the criteria.
According to existing rules, roughly 750,000 individuals will be evicted throughout the country before the end of the year.
Conclusion
The rental aid program is the last remaining enormous protection for American renters now that the larger eviction ban is over. And many of the remaining state eviction bans are supposed to end by September. With evictions allowed to resume in an estimated 90% of the country by October, the need for financial help to millions is needed just as much now as before.
If the present rate of rental aid distribution continues, 1 million to 2 million families will be behind on their rent and without help by the time the remaining state eviction moratoriums expire.
Thankfully, the federal assistance program exists- although many people don’t know of it. People are calling on the federal government to do even more. They want them to assist people but so far there are no plans in Congress for such help.
