Nearly a month after Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an extension on the city’s eviction moratorium through August 31, the city is taking steps to help out renters as the deadline looms.
On Thursday, Bottoms announced an allocation of $22 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The allocation is a partnership with the United Way of Greater Atlanta, who will administer the program.
“Access to safe, affordable and livable housing is one of our Administration’s top priorities,” said Bottoms. “Beyond the pressing challenges of COVID-19, we aim to ensure that every resident who wants to live in Atlanta is able to do so with dignity. Thank you to United Way of Greater Atlanta for being a partner in providing housing stability to residents as we navigate this now normal.”
Residential renters who have had a Covid-19 caused loss of income will be eligible for assistance on the payment of their past due rent or security deposits with a maximum household limit of $3,000. The City of Atlanta and Mayor Bottoms have been voicing concerns about housing instability long before Covid-19 exacerbated the issue. Foreclosure, eviction and homelessness are all a big concern as eviction moratoriums end.
The United Way of Greater Atlanta is actually the largest United Way in the country and is well-suited to take over administration of the program.
“As many as 16,000 households in the City of Atlanta make under $50,000 a year and are employed in occupations that are at high risk of layoffs from COVID,” says Milton J. Little, Jr., President, and CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta. “Through our partnership with the City of Atlanta on the Atlanta COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, we will be able to provide relief to families with children, lower-income earning households, and other vulnerable populations.”
Bottoms’ eviction moratorium applied to a number of organizations over which she has authority, including the Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta Beltline Inc., Fulton County / City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority, Invest Atlanta and Partners for Home. The federal moratorium on evictions expired on July 25 but with the 30-day notice window, that deadline will come next week. September could see a number of evictions not seen in some time – a report from Newsweek estimated that 30-40 million Americans could be at risk of eviction.
A surge of evictions could also be bad for the status of Covid-19 spread. For those who cannot afford to move to a new place or pay back rent, homeless shelters or moving in with friends of family make it that much harder to social distance. Homeless shelters and nonprofits that work with homeless have gotten hit by the economic impact like everyone else and a surge in new visitors will stretch budgets even tighter.
