D.C. Councilmembers last week voted to block Mayor Muriel Bowser’s request to move $20 million out of a district program for emergency rental assistance.
“Residents need emergency rental assistance in a big way right now,” Councilman Robert White said in a Nov. 7 statement.
White said he worked with Council Chairman Phil Mendelson to put up a disapproval resolution in response to a recent request from the mayor’s office to move $20.6 million out of the District’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) into a rapid rehousing program, which helps people experiencing homelessness. The council voted unanimously in support.
“Rapid Rehousing is an important program, but we cannot pull that money from ERAP–another desperately needed program,” White said.
Officials said that when ERAP, which helps D.C. residents earning less than 40% of the area’s median income avoid eviction, opened for applications in October, the website crashed. The system received a total of 3,578 applications within a few days, highlighting the need for the program.
White said the ERAP applications “represent thousands of residents, who without assistance, would be at risk for eviction.”
He added that he, along with Mendelson, had directed an additional $33 million in federal funding last year to the ERAP, to help more people after the program ran out of money.
A report from the nonprofit United Planning Organization revealed that over 50% of D.C. renters use over half of their paychecks on rent and utilities.
The council’s focus on offering rental assistance comes after the D.C. Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit earlier this month against 14 of the city’s largest landlords alleging widespread rent collusion.
