Deep South Receives over $1.4 billion in Rental Assistance Funds: Recommendations for an Equitable Response

February 11th, 2021

By Calandra Davis, Policy Analyst

A recent Household Pulse Survey shows that 1 in 3 Deep South renters have little to no confidence that they can make February’s rent payment.[1] This is a small percentage compared to what will happen if state and local governments do not act to provide rental assistance to struggling in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Judges and landlords are proceeding with evictions even with the federal eviction moratorium in place until March 31, 2021.

To avoid a continuous flood of evictions, Hope Policy Institute and housing advocates recommend state and local leaders create policies to expand emergency rent assistance programs. Deep South policy makers not only need a more comprehensive response to this crisis, they need to ensure people remain housed as they make decisions about how to deploy assistance funds. As more than $1.4 billion dollars comes to the Deep South from the U.S. Treasury’s $25 billion Emergency Rental Assistance Funds, it is critical for state and local governments setting up the program to ensure it reaches and can be accessed by people and communities hardest hit by COVID-19.

Hope Policy Institute has produced the following one-page overviews to help community leaders and policy makers in achieving this goal:

Uses and Amounts of the Emergency Rental Assistance Funds in the Deep South

Best Practice Recommendations for Deep South Rental Assistance Programs

[1] U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, “Table 2b. Confidence in Ability to Make Next Month’s Payment for Renter Occupied Housing Units, by Select Characteristics” for the week January 6-18, 2021, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2021/demo/hhp/hhp22.html