Millions of struggling tenants are likely to be protected from eviction – at least for another month.
The stimulus bill approved by Congress on Monday night would extend the national ban on evictions until January 31. The package would also provide $ 25 billion in emergency rental assistance. But the relief bill has yet to be signed by President Trump.
But if the package is approved, none of the measures is likely to be enough to keep tenants most at risk in their homes last January.
Struggling to stay afloat
Kelly Green, who lives in a $ 1,429-a-month apartment in Daytona Beach, Florida, has been unable to pay rent since September.
“The only reason I have a roof over my head is because of the eviction moratorium,” said Green.
Green makes a living by selling biker clothing with rhinestones and sequins in motorcycle rallies and other festivals.
After the stoppage in March, there were no festivals, events and she had no income. Still, she pooled her savings, stimulus payments, rent benefits and unemployment insurance payments and managed to update her rent until July. But she did not know how she would survive the end of the $ 600 a week supplementary unemployment benefit.
Green heard of a coronavirus-related rental aid fund offered by Volusia County, where she lives. She signed up for assistance and received $ 4,500 for her three-month rent.
But there was an obstacle: Volusia County’s rental assistance program requires tenants to be on rent since March 13, 2020. Green was late in rent in February and, as a result, his apartment complex would not accept the aid.
Without that money, Green was unable to pay the full rent in October, November or December. And since she exceeded the rental term in November, she is now on a monthly contract that is $ 500 more expensive per month.
“Even if the moratorium is extended, the money is piling up against me,” she said. “What would help me the most is if I received a rental allowance check for three months, that they take it.”
Read the full story here.