Keeping Families in their Homes
Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) programs have collectively provided communities over $46 billion to support housing stability for eligible renters throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participating governments have leveraged ERA funding to make over 10 million assistance payments to renters facing eviction, and research has shown that ERA assistance has supported low-income renters and renters of color. Combined with other Administration initiatives, Treasury’s ERA programs have helped to prevent millions of evictions since the onset of the pandemic.
Two separate ERA programs have been established: the ERA1 program was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and provided $25 billion to assist eligible households with financial assistance and housing stability services. The ERA2 program was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and provides $21.55 billion to assist eligible households with financial assistance, provide housing stability services, and as applicable, to cover the costs for other affordable rental housing and eviction prevention activities. Financial assistance can include the payment of rent, rental arrears, utilities and home energy costs, utilities and home energy costs arrears, and certain other expenses related to housing. ERA funds are provided directly to states, U.S. territories, certain local governments1, and in the case of ERA1, Indian Tribes or their Tribally Designated Housing Entities and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
1 In accordance with the ERA1 and ERA2 statutory requirements, only local governments with more than 200,000 residents are eligible to receive an ERA1 and ERA2 award from Treasury. See 15 U.S.C 9058a.(b)(1) and 15 U.S.C 9058c.(b)(1).
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Highlighted Program Resources
Treasury offers a variety of guidance and resources to support successful ERA program implementation and increase program transparency such as:
- Policy Guides: Program Guidance, FAQs, Reporting, & Award terms
- Resources for Enhancing Program Effectiveness: Program & service design & Promising Practices
Recent updates
March 2024
- FAQs: On March 5, 2024, Treasury updated its FAQs and sent a notice to ERA2 grantees to clarify that grantees may use their ERA2 award funds to cover expenses for the acquisition of real property and predevelopment activities to enable construction, rehabilitation, or preservation of affordable rental housing projects serving very low-income families.
February 2024
- Research: On February 8, 2024, Treasury and the federal Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) released new research on streamlining income verification to broaden access to rental assistance.
December 2023
- Promising Practices: On December 7, Treasury published The Tribal Housing Stability Report presenting Treasury’s federal financial assistance programs aimed at meeting a range of Tribal housing needs.
October 2023
- Reporting: October 16, 2023, Treasury released ERA2 Cumulative Program Data: Q2 2021 – Q2 2023.
- Promising Practices: On October 16, Treasury published a resource to assist local, state, territorial, and Tribal governments in effectively using American Rescue Plan funds to help more households stay in their homes.
Press releases
October 2023
- October 23: On October 23, Treasury released a report providing new evidence that the recovery from the economic harm of the COVID-19 pandemic was the most equitable recovery in recent history, supporting the housing stability of homeowners and renters alike. Building on these findings, the Biden-Harris Administration announced efforts to expand economic opportunity for communities of color and continue to close the racial wealth gap at the Annual Freedman’s Bank Forum.
- October 16: FACT SHEET: New Treasury Department Data Illustrates How American Rescue Plan Resources Are Expanding Access to Affordable Housing and Keeping Families in their Homes.
April 2023
- April 27: READOUT: Treasury Department Convenes Roundtable to Discuss the American Rescue Plan’s Historic Investments in Rental Assistance for AANHPI Communities
- April 13: Treasury Department Announces Over $520 Million to be Reallocated to Prevent Eviction
March 2023