Millions of tenants are left behind in rent while waiting for Covid-19 federal assistance

California has March 15 to set up an application system. In New York, the funds are stuck in the state budget process, which could be extended until April. The Michigan legislature plans to approve its share of the money only in installments.

The delays partly reflect the complexity of starting a new system from scratch and the difficulty of withdrawing money quickly, while avoiding fraud.

“Right now it’s just sitting there in most states,” said David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, a nonprofit group that advocates for affordable housing. “The reality is that these things take time and you want to do them right and not get it wrong because you were going too fast.”

Texas opened its $ 1.3 billion rental aid application portal on Feb. 15 and hopes to begin releasing funds someday this month, said Kristina Tirloni, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. .

The state will first distribute the aid to lower-income tenants. It took about two weeks for landlords and tenants to receive money once they applied, he said, and applications will be accepted for as long as the money lasts.

Congress will approve an additional $ 20 billion in rental assistance as part of the $ 1.9 trillion aid package supported by the Biden administration. On Saturday, President Biden urged the Senate to take swift action on the package after it was approved in the House in a vote in much of the party.

Altogether, the estimated $ 45 billion in aid is expected to help delinquent tenants, many of whom lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, as well as landlords to whom money is owed.

An analysis by the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank, found that the amount of unpaid rent could exceed $ 52 billion. It is estimated that the average delinquent household owed $ 5,586.

According to a survey by the Census Bureau last month, about 17% of tenants are now behind on their payments, three times the normal rate.

Many state and local governments have downsized during the pandemic and are ill-equipped to build and manage rental assistance programs, said Brad Gair, general manager of emergency services consultancy Witt O’Brien’s.

“You need the staff to design and implement the programs. Case management, call centers, that’s a little more than a lot [local governments] you can, “Mr. Gair said. His company has been hired to help manage rental aid and other forms of pandemic relief in Kansas and other states and by local governments such as King County, Washington, Seattle headquarters. .

Generally, states and localities have until Sept. 30 to use the aid money for rent.

The delays stem in part from Treasury efforts to develop guidelines to protect against fraud. This was a problem last year with the more than $ 520 billion in forgivable loans from the Small Business Payment Check Protection Program, which were quickly distributed but did not require much documentation.

State and local officials said they had problems with the guidelines initially issued by the Treasury on Jan. 19, the last full day of the Trump administration, which they considered overly complicated. The Biden administration clarified the guidelines last week, allowing self-certification of tenants who cannot document loss of income.

The delay makes Laura Carrion, a single mother who works in Houston, recover her most difficult financial base.

A home care nurse, Ms. Carrion was out of work full-time for six months and eventually owed her owner more than $ 8,000. A federal moratorium on evictions, in effect at least until March, has kept her at home.

In February, she got a nursing job. He now works up to 72 hours a week trying to earn enough to cover his monthly bills and pay off his past debts, all while raising his teenage son.

“I feel like I’m drowning because I’m 49,” he said. “I’m not 30 anymore.”

The owners are also tightening.

PJ Calello, whose family business manages about 1,000 rental units in and around Newark, said there were about 120 tenants back in rent or down payments, three times the number before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, costs are rising. Water use on their properties increases by a third, as tenants stay at home during the pandemic. The amount of garbage to be collected has doubled and wear and tear extends to maintenance and cleaning staff, who cannot work remotely.

“We have some tenants who haven’t paid rent since March last year,” Calello said.

Write to Andrew Ackerman at [email protected] and Will Parker at [email protected]