Texas county returns millions in unspent federal rent relief

Dec 30, 2021
Montgomery County officials say there’s been minimal demand for county funds, but others say that’s because the county didn’t make it easily available to renters.
Houston-area renters line up for rent relief assistance at La Iglesia del Pueblo on July 5.
Jen Rice

Voters in St. Paul, Minnesota, to decide on strict rent control proposal

Oct 27, 2021
If enacted, the proposal would be one of the most aggressive rent control policies in the country, applying to new construction.
St. Paul resident Emily Lynch says the rent on her single-family home is going up by $400 per month in January, an increase of more than 30%. She’s now looking for a more affordable place to live.
Britta Greene

Inside Philadelphia's eviction diversion program

Oct 19, 2021
Mediation aims to repair strained relationships and keep tenants in their homes.
Tenant activists hold anti-eviction signs outside a New York City marshal's office. In Philadelphia, the city's Eviction Diversion Program has conducted thousands of mediations and distributed rental relief.
Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images

Rent-relief distribution has been slow in parts of the country. What’s going on?

Sep 8, 2021
Jessica Thomasson of North Dakota’s Department of Human Services talks about the logistical challenges and the need for outreach.
Los Angeles demonstrators protest evictions and advocate rent cancellation during the pandemic in August 2020.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Tenants in Los Angeles anxiously await rent relief as the city struggles to get funds out

Aug 10, 2021
In hard-hit L.A., only about 15% of the city’s current rent relief funding has reached households in need.
Los Angeles demonstrators protest evictions and advocate rent cancellation during the pandemic in August 2020.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Just $3 billion in rent relief has gone out, with CDC eviction ban set to end

Jul 23, 2021
More rental assistance was distributed in June than in the previous three months combined, but it's still a small fraction of the nearly $50 billion Congress approved.
Demonstrators march in the street during a "Cancel Rent and Mortgages" rally in June 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images

Houston officials are handing out rent relief, but not all landlords are signing up

May 31, 2021
The local program recently eliminated landlord participation as a requirement for renters to receive funding, so the payments can go directly to renters.
With the CDC eviction order set to expire at the end of June, renters are scrambling to pull together back rent.
David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

As another month's rent comes due, appropriated relief is finally making its way to tenants

May 28, 2021
More than 400 programs are in place to distribute nearly $50 billion in aid to tenants who've fallen behind.
After more than a year of this pandemic, many tenants have fallen behind and are struggling to pay rent.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

More relief is on the way for renters who've fallen behind

Dec 21, 2020
Even though hundreds of millions in aid from the CARES Act went unspent.
Demonstrators call for rent and mortgage cancellation during a Minneapolis rally in June. The new relief bill in Congress provides funds for rental assistance.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images