US Treasury distributed nearly US$2.8b in rental aid in September

Washington

STATE and local governments distributed nearly US$2.8 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance programme funds in September, up from about US$2.6 billion in August and bringing the year-to-date total to US$10.3 billion, the US Treasury said on Oct 25.

The Treasury said that about 510,000 American households were helped by the aid to pay rent, utilities and arrears, compared to 459,000 in August.

The figures show some acceleration of disbursements as programmes administered by states and municipalities gain traction, with over 2 million payments made so far, but the pace is still behind the curve, Biden administration officials said.

Gene Sperling, the White House coordinator for coronavirus aid programmes, said that the programme is on track for 3.5 million rental aid payments for all of 2021, "making a meaningful difference in preventing the feared surge in evictions, but it is still not good enough".

"These stronger numbers still mask disturbing regional differences," he added, noting very high performance in many cities and states, with disappointing performance in others.

The Treasury said that Los Angeles more than doubled its September disbursements to US$72 million from US$32 million in August, while Illinois disbursements jumped to US$177 million from US$62 million.

For communities that have not expended more than 30 per cent of the rental aid funds that they were allocated in the programme's first tranche, the Treasury will use the September data to start the process of reallocating funds to other communities. REUTERS