President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday outlined a $1.9 trillion emergency relief plan that would have major consequences for real estate and the economy at large.
The proposal would extend a national moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to Sept. 30. The moratorium is set to expire Jan. 31, according to MarketWatch.
Biden is also calling on Congress to come up with $30 billion for emergency rental, energy and water assistance for hard-hit families, as well as $5 billion in assistance for those experiencing homelessness.
“While the $25 billion allocated by Congress was an important down payment on the back rent accrued during this crisis, it is insufficient to meet the scale of the need,” the Biden team noted in a fact sheet on the aid package, MarketWatch reported.
Tenant advocates and some landlords had been hoping for more. New York City residents alone owe about $2 billion in back rent, a landlord group estimated this week.
https://therealdeal.com/2021/01/14/rent-stabilized-tenants-owe-landlords-more-than-1b/
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Biden hopes to get bipartisan support for his wide-ranging package. But it received immediate criticism from both parties for being too much and not enough, the Washington Post reported.
“Unity is not some pie-in-the-sky dream. It’s a practical step to get any of the things we have to get done as a country, get done together,” Biden said in an evening speech in Wilmington, Del.
Biden’s proposal is focused on providing funding for a few key areas: $400 billion to fight the coronavirus with vaccines and testing, while reopening schools; more than $1 trillion in direct relief to families; and $440 billion for aid to communities and businesses.
Of that, $350 billion would be delivered as emergency funding to state, local and tribal governments. It would provide grants to more than 1 million small businesses.
The bill would also include $1,400 checks for individuals and increase federal unemployment benefits to $400 per week from $300.
[Washington Post, MarketWatch] — Sasha Jones