BY PRISCILLA ALMODOVAR & JAMES WHELAN
As unemployment figures grow at an alarming rate, the need
to safeguard housing for millions of vulnerable Americans must be a priority
for Congress as it considers its next stimulus bill.
Many tenants struggled to make their rent payments on April 1, and while some may have been able to dip into their savings or were still employed in March, the most severe impacts of the economic shutdown on rent payments are likely yet to come. May rent collections will likely be down even further, and June could be worse still. The silver lining is that there is still time for elected officials to act and get rental assistance out the door now, before people become housing unstable or homeless.
Financial hardship causes unbearable stress for tenants
having to decide among paying for housing, food or medicine. Foregoing rent in
turn creates uncertainty for property owners, who use those dollars to support
their staff, clean and maintain their buildings and pay their real estate
taxes, which in many places fund essential services like police, firefighters
and yes, health care workers. The domino effect puts entire cities at further
risk.
Many of the solutions to the emerging housing crises, both
proposed and enacted, don’t actually go far enough to serve those in need.
Eviction moratoriums, enacted across the country, have been
critical for enabling low-income residents to stay in their homes amid the
pandemic. But this solution is temporary and once state governments lift these
moratoriums, many families will be thrust into legal conflicts and eventually,
homelessness.
Proposed rent freeze legislation would be beneficial for
renters struggling to make ends meet but would transfer a sizable financial
burden onto property owners and related organizations already experiencing a
loss of income due to the severe economic downturn.
What’s needed is an emergency rental assistance program that
would help defend both tenants and property owners against further financial
difficulties as the pandemic continues.
Stimulus funding should be prioritized to stabilize the
housing market by providing emergency rental assistance, with adequate
resources allotted for state and local governments in a timely and efficient
manner.
Emergency rental assistance provides rental support for
tenants who need it most during uncertain economic times like these. Guaranteed
rental income also allows property owners to maintain healthy and clean spaces
for tenants, keep building workers employed and pay their own bills.
The federal government can accomplish this by designating additional funding to the Department of Housing and Urban Development existing rental assistance programs, including the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, ESG (Emergency Solutions Grant Program) and CDBG (Community Development Block Grants).
The federal government has stepped up this way in the past.
After the attacks of 9/11, the federal government saved many New Yorkers by
allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide mortgage and rental
assistance, as well as individual and family housing grants. FEMA’s Mortgage
and Rental Assistance Program was a targeted approach that ensured resources
went to those individuals impacted by the attacks. We need a similar, targeted
approach today. Those who can still pay rent must continue to do so. Relief
should flow to those who are most in need during this crisis.
It’s also crucial that tenants be able to pay rent with all
lawful sources of income. Populations particularly vulnerable during the
pandemic, including the elderly, persons living with disabilities, domestic
violence survivors and persons experiencing homelessness, frequently face
discrimination when they try to pay rent with non-wage forms of income, like
veterans or disability benefits, Section 8 vouchers or child support. Such
discrimination is illegal in New York and 17 other states; it’s more important
than ever that these measures are strictly enforced. States and local
governments can also set the tone by refusing to tolerate bias against tenants
paying rent legally, and property owners must allow for these diverse forms of
income.
Right now, people’s greatest concern should be the health
and safety of their families, not how and whether they’ll be able to pay for
housing. Without emergency rental assistance, the financial and health burdens
communities suffer will grow even starker, as many residents risk losing their
homes and housing providers risk losing their businesses. We implore Congress
to protect and provide for the entire housing ecosystem, ensuring safe, healthy
homes at a time when their need has never been clearer.
Priscilla Almodovar is chief executive officer of Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit housing organization. James Whelan is president of the Real Estate Board of New York, a real estate trade association.
This Op-Ed was originally published by Morning Consult
