The first round of rental assistance (ERA1) was meant to help low-income and underserved households struggling to pay their rent. Data released in February 2022 by the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) shows that these communities did benefit from the $24 billion program. For the period October 1 – December 31, 2021, 86% of households earning less than 51% of their area’s median income received rental assistance.
In addition, the recent data shows that of all recipients in this period:
- 42% of households identified as Black or African American
- 19% identified as Hispanic or Latino
- 68% had female heads of households
State and local government were required to obligate at least 65% of their ERA1 funds by September 20, 2021. If they did not, Treasury could take back the unspent portions and re-distribute them to states and local governments that had exceeded the 65%. Treasury’s February 2022 report shows that Treasury re-distributed ERA1 funding to state and local governments that served a higher share of extremely low-income households and more diverse communities than average.
NOTES about the February 2022 data:
- For the October 1 – December 31, 2021, period, Treasury reported demographic data for 89.5% of households receiving assistance, but no similar data for the remaining 10.5% of the households.
- Treasury data does not include Tribal governments.
- Find your area’s median income at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- The data does not include spending for the second round of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2).
For details on the program, follow this link to our Pandemic Response Funding dashboard and select Assistance Listing 21.023 (see screenshot below for instructions).
For more about on the Emergency Rental Assistance program, read our data story, Update: How much has each state spent on rental assistance.