The economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic put millions of households across the nation in jeopardy of losing their homes. Low-income renters, including millions of essential workers, were hit the hardest.

In 2021, states and local governments began administering Emergency Rental Assistance programs with federal funds through the U.S. Department of the Treasury as authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (ERA 1: $25 billion) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ERA 2: $21.66 billion). State housing finance agencies in 29 states served as state-level administrators for ERA, helping millions of households maintain housing stability by assisting them with their rent and utility payments.

According to Treasury data, state and local governments leveraged ERA to make more than 10 million rental assistance payments during the programs’ tenures. States not only delivered assistance quickly, they did so equitably and efficiently, often exhausting their allocations ahead of Treasury deadlines and closing programs as funds were fully deployed. Independent research by Princeton’s Eviction Lab suggests ERA and other Covid-era policies cut eviction filings by more than half — an extraordinary impact on housing stability during the height of the crisis.

The period of performance for both ERA 1 and ERA 2 is now over. Grantees have exhausted their ERA resources and are no longer assisting households with these programs. Renters seeking help can explore other assistance resources on the interagency housing portal hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or reach out to their state HFA.

Interagency Housing Portal