§9058a Emergency rental assistance

Summary

Provides $25,000,000,000 from the U.S. Treasury for emergency rental help in fiscal year 2021. The Secretary of the Treasury must set aside $400,000,000 for Puerto Rico and the five U.S. territories, $800,000,000 for Indian tribes and tribal housing entities, and up to $15,000,000 to run the program at Treasury. The rest goes to States and local governments using a preexisting formula and rules, with some changes so the District of Columbia counts like a State, a minimum State allocation is $200,000, and certain technical rules do not apply. From the tribal set-aside, 0.3 percent of that amount must go to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and the rest is split to tribes based on their 2020 Native American housing grant shares; tribes that opted out in 2020 can opt in within 30 days after December 27, 2020. If allocations exceed the reserved money, payments are cut proportionally. If a tribe declines its share by 30 days after December 27, 2020, the unused amount must be redistributed within 15 days to other tribes that accept it. Grantees may only use the money to help eligible households with financial aid and housing-stability services caused by the COVID‑19 outbreak. At least 90 percent of each grantee’s funds must pay for direct financial help such as rent, past-due rent, utilities, past-due utilities, and other housing costs tied to COVID‑19. Up to 10 percent may be used for case management and services, and up to 10 percent may be used for the grantee’s administrative costs. Generally, grantees cannot commit prospective rent payments for more than 3 months from a single application, but households can apply again for more months if funds remain and total months do not exceed program limits. If a household has past-due rent, grantees should help with arrears before promising future rent payments. Payments should be made to landlords or utility companies when possible. If a landlord or utility refuses payment after outreach, grantees may pay the household instead. Grantees must give households documentation of payments. The Treasury Secretary must publish public reports at least quarterly with numbers served, acceptance rates, types of help, average amounts, income bands (<=30%, >30–50%, >50–80% of area median income), and average months paid; these reports must also break out results by gender, race, and ethnicity of the primary applicant. Grantees must protect personal data and give special confidentiality to survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Beginning September 30, 2021, Treasury may recapture money a grantee has not obligated and reallocate it to grantees that have obligated at least 65% of their original award; funds remain available through September 30, 2022, and a grantee receiving reallocated money may request one 90‑day extension. Treasury’s Inspector General will monitor the funds, and $6,500,000 is set aside for that oversight. Any wrongfully used funds can be treated as a debt and repaid to the U.S. Treasury. Help given under this program is not counted as income or a resource for other federal, state, or local benefit programs. Definitions (one line each): area median income — the local median income as set by HUD; eligible grantee — a State, qualifying local government, qualifying Indian tribe or tribal housing entity, or the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; eligible household — renter(s) who face COVID‑19 hardship, show risk of homelessness or housing instability, and have income ≤80% of the area median income; Inspector General — the Treasury Inspector General; Secretary — the Secretary of the Treasury; unit of local government — local government defined like the usual law but using a 200,000 population threshold.