Federal funds meant to help renters during the pandemic are still stuck in bureaucratic limbo as the end of the latest eviction moratorium looms in early October.

Although Congress allocated $46 billion in rental assistance in the last two COVID-19 stimulus packages, writes Annie Nova, "just around $4.2 billion of that money has reached households, according to a new analysis by the National Low Income Housing Coalition."
Distribution has varied widely in different states: "Texas has already managed to distribute more than half of its first round of federal rental assistance, while South Carolina has given out less than 2%." Throughout the U.S., "programs are understaffed and overwhelmed by the volume of applications. Insufficient outreach and arduous documentation requirements have also been barriers. A recent study by the Urban Institute found that fewer than half of renters even know about the federal assistance." The process can also be prohibitively complicated. "Andrew Aurand, vice president for research at the housing coalition, said he ran into one application that was 45 pages long. Another required renters to document their income over the last six months."
Recently, renters got a short reprieve with an extended eviction moratorium that ends on October 3, but housing advocates say getting rental assistance to those who urgently need it is the only way to prevent a future wave of evictions and displacement.
FULL STORY: This map shows how much rental assistance states have distributed

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

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Bend, Deschutes County Move to Restrict Major Homeless Encampment
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High Housing Costs Driving Down Transit Ridership in LA
When neighborhoods gentrify and displace lower-income residents, transit ridership suffers, new research shows.

Iowa Legalizes Accessory Dwelling Units
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