Sununu requests changes to federal rental assistance program
(The Center Square) – Gov. Chris Sununu is seeking changes to a federal rental assistance program to expand the amount of affordable housing in the state.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Sununu said criteria for using the federal funds is “overly restrictive” and called on the agency to expand the definition of costs that can be reimbursed.
“In sum, meeting the goals of the Emergency Rental Assistance program requires more than rental and utility relief at a household level,” Sununu wrote. “It must include additional efforts aimed at improving housing affordability and availability.”
Under the ERA program, money can be used to help pay rent, utilities and energy costs as well as “other housing related expenses due directly or indirectly to COVID-19.” The federal agency has interpreted that to mean expenses such as security deposits, late fees and the cost of a stay in a hotel or motel – but not affordable housing.
Sununu said that “narrow interpretation” is “hindering the state’s ability to use the funds to ensure our more vulnerable populations have access to safe and affordable housing.”
He suggested that the rental assistance money could be also used for investing in affordable housing rental units, creating incentives for public private partnerships to develop new housing and “reduce the risk of developers and lenders to incentivize development.”
“The challenge of enabling people to maintain their housing during this pandemic isn’t just about rental relief,” Sununu wrote. “It’s about the lack of available affordable housing.”
In March, the Sununu administration created the New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program with about $20 million in federal funding from the latest stimulus package.
Renters are eligible for relief through the state’s program if their household income is below 80% of the area median income, someone in the residence is collecting unemployment benefits, if they’ve lost income or experienced financial hardship because of the pandemic, or are at risk of being evicted.
Sununu said the affordable housing situation is so severe in some communities “that temporarily covering rent and utilities is little more than a band-aid for a broken leg.”
“While the tighter supply of affordable rental units and the ripple effect that deficiency has throughout the economy is felt across all socioeconomic groups, the highest costs are borne by those with the least, leaving too many in our community without access to safe, affordable, and permanent housing,” he wrote.
New Hampshire has seen significant increases in building costs caused by COVID-19 related supply chain disruptions. Sununu said many homeowners are choosing to live in their properties instead of renting them out. Meanwhile, the state has seen a steady influx of people from other states during the pandemic, he said.
“All of this has exacerbated the lack of affordable housing and produced skyrocketing housing and rental costs,” Sununu wrote.
Sununu said if the Treasury expanded the scope of the program to provide more flexibility on use of the money “New Hampshire could change the long-term future course for families and communities that continue to struggle with housing insecurity.”
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