The U.S. may be past the worst of the pandemic, but it could be in for another major crisis.
With a federal moratorium on evictions scheduled to end June 30, millions of people who owe back rent could lose their homes if federal aid does not arrive in time, according to Politico.
Congress has allocated about $50 billion to help struggling tenants and landlords, but most of it is being held up as state and local governments set up systems to verify what tenants owe and then distribute funds.
White House officials said they would soon release plans to speed up the process.
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Under the relief law, the Treasury secretary is supposed to take funds away from jurisdictions that have failed to disburse at least 65 percent of the money by Sept. 30 and reallocate it to places that have moved faster.
The Urban Institute projected that before the relief funds went out some 10 million delinquent renters nationwide owed $57 billion in rent and late fees.
The national eviction moratorium has drawn backlash from landlord groups which have sued in courts throughout the country. Many smaller landlords claim that the law disproportionately affects them as they rely on rental income to pay their own housing costs.
[Politico] — Keith Larsen