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A recent study sought to glean lessons from the state and local rental assistance programs launched in 2020 before the emergency rental assistance programs funded by the coronavirus relief package signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020 ramps up. The difficult task of administering these funds will fall to state and local governments, many of which have never provided direct rental assistance, or will need to scale up their 2020 efforts significantly.
President Joe Biden recently unveiled his “American Rescue Plan,” a $1.9 trillion package of policies to address the healthcare, economic, and societal harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He described it as an “emergency legislative package to fund vaccinations, provide immediate, direct relief to families bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis, and support struggling communities.”
Janet L. Yellen was recently sworn in as the secretary of the Treasury Department. Ms. Yellen is the 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to head the department. As Treasury secretary she will be involved in the design, negotiation, and passage of a stimulus package intended to revive the economy. The Treasury secretary also oversees the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which administers the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
LIHTC supports a little over 40 percent of the multifamily housing market in rural Persistent Poverty Counties (PPCs), according to a new Freddie Mac white paper.
More than 7,600 apartments, townhomes, and houses nationwide are currently exposed to at least one “coastal flood risk event” in a typical year, and more than 24,500 units may be so threatened by 2050, according to a new report by The National Housing Trust and Climate Central. Their analysis evaluates the risk to affordable housing from flooding related to sea-level rise over the next 30 years. In short, the number of affordable housing units at risk from coastal flooding and sea level rise is expected to more than triple over the next three decades.
Despite low interest rates and continued growth in some sectors, the health and economic consequences of COVID-19 coupled with racial tensions and climate change across the nation have exacerbated the rental supply and affordability crises, according to the recent 2020 State of the Nation’s Housing report. Released by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), the report can be found at www.jchs.harvard.edu/state-nations-housing-2020.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has announced that the IRS has extended to Nov. 21 the deadline to apply for a CARES Act Economic Impact Payment (EIP) for people who don’t normally file income taxes. The deadline had been Oct. 15 for eligible people to apply for their “stimulus checks.” The IRS urges non-filers to register using the free non-filers tool. This online tool was designed for eligible people who aren’t normally required to file a tax return.
On Oct. 9, the CDC issued FAQs for the eviction moratorium in place from Sept. 4 through Dec. 30. The FAQs were issued jointly by the CDC, HUD, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to clarify outstanding questions related to the declaration used by tenants to certify eligibility for the protections, as well as timing for housing providers initiating evictions.
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), recently introduced a bill in the Senate to offer tax relief to individuals, businesses, and states affected by catastrophic wildfires, such as the ones devastating California, Oregon, and Washington, along with other presidentially declared disasters, such as Hurricane Sally, which has flooded parts of Gulf states like Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently launched a Final 30 Days Push campaign to help eligible people apply for their Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), better known as “stimulus checks,” before the Oct. 15 deadline. According to the IRS, there are roughly nine million Americans who typically don’t file federal income tax returns who may be eligible for, but have not registered to claim, an economic impact payment.
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