Treasury Will Review Reallocating Portions of Unused ERAP Funds on Sept. 30

On Sept. 30, the Treasury Department will be required by law to consider reallocating unused funds from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) that was passed by Congress in December 2020 to help renters and landlords who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congress appropriated two rounds of ERAP funds totaling $46.5 billion and the law applies to the first ERAP, which allocated $26.5 billion to help distressed tenants and property owners. Roughly $7.7 billion has been distributed from this $26.5 billion that Congress appropriated.

On Sept. 24, the deputy secretary of the Treasury released a letter on how the Treasury intends to approach the reallocation process:

• Treasury will not be seizing state and local grantees’ ‘excess’ ERAP all at once — it will be done gradually over a period of months;
• Grantees will have the opportunity to show reason for keeping their ERAP;
• Obligated ERAP will not be reallocated; and
• Treasury wants to keep the reallocated ERAP in the same state.

NAHB continues to advocate for effective solutions to expedite ERAP assistance to renters and housing providers. We strongly urge the Treasury Department and ERAP grantees to ensure this policy does not further delay ERAP applications in the pipeline and create new confusion about where to apply for ERAP assistance.

For more information, contact Michelle Kitchen.