Tennessee says lack of applications to blame for small distribution of rental relief money
Jon Styf
The Center Square
Tennessee has disbursed only $17.2 million of the $383.4 million worth of Emergency Rental Assistance program money the state received in the first wave of funding for the COVID-19 relief program.
Nearly $2 million of the amount has been paid out in the past two weeks, but it still pales in comparison to the total money available, with $312 million more applied for and received from the state in Phase 2 of the program, called ERA2.
The Tennessee Housing Development Agency distributes the rental relief in 91 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, while some larger counties, such as Davidson and Shelby counties, distribute the funds through their own local agencies.
“In Tennessee and many other states, the number of applications for COVID rent relief are far fewer than expected,” THDA spokesperson Rebecca Anderson said. “THDA is continuing outreach efforts to landlords, tenant groups, social service agencies and non-profits. THDA is also working with the Administrative Office of the Courts to make those who are facing eviction aware of the program.”
Only 12% of the federal rental assistance funds had been distributed nationwide as of June 30. Only five states had distributed more than 20% of their funds, and only 10% of localities distributed more than 50%. Tennessee ranked 31st in the nation in the amount of funds distributed through the end of June.
To combat the low fund distribution rates, the Biden administration has continued to ask states to do what they can to simplify and speed up the process of fund distribution.
“For months, the administration has worked to speed up state and local grantees’ delivery of ERA and help keep American families stably housed,” the White House said Wednesday in a news release. “As the president has made clear, no state or locality should delay distributing resources that have been provided by Congress to meet families’ critical needs and prevent the tragedy of unnecessary eviction.
“Most notably, today, Treasury is providing even more explicit permission for grantees to utilize self-attestation without further documentation in order to speed the delivery of assistance to households in need during the public health emergency.”
The lack of fund distribution also directly impacts landlords.
Gary Heath, president of Good Landlords in Louisville, Tennessee, said no landlord wants to have to evict a tenant who cannot pay rent.
“It is usually a last resort to resolve an undesired situation. It’s expensive and time-consuming and leaves a landlord with an empty unit to repair and restore,” Heath said. “Many landlords are small operations with only a few units. When a tenant or two doesn’t pay their rent as expected, it may put the owner in a dire condition. They have mortgages to pay, taxes and insurance and other cost any property owner has to deal with. Any homeowner with a mortgage who suddenly loses their income would probably struggle with the same emotions many landlords feel today.
“I understand politicians and uninvolved citizens wanting to protect tenants who are truly having a hard-time at no fault of their own, but I wish they wouldn’t ignore how their decisions affect a struggling property-owner.”
Heath said he has referred a few tenants to the rental relief program but several have struggled to acquire payments.
“Sadly, some of the people who need the help don’t have access to the internet, a few don’t even have an email address,” Heath said. “When they called the number, they were told they’d have to apply on line. Online is still unknown territory to many uninformed individuals who need the help.”
The THDA’s Anderson encouraged those who are struggling to receive benefits to call the THDA Rent Relief call center at 844-500-1112.
The White House said it is encouraged that July’s distribution numbers look better than previous months. In July, 341,000 households received rental and utilities assistance, up from 293,000 in June and 157,000 in May, the White House said.
Anderson said the TDHA is looking continuously for ways to increase its distributions.
“To name just a few improvements made, THDA has decreased the amount of uploaded documentation required by an applicant and simplified the process for obtaining prospective rent payments for eligible applicants,” Anderson said. “We will continue to monitor and evaluate the program and make adjustments, when appropriate, to help better serve Tennesseans in need of this funding.”
A nationwide eviction moratorium ended at the end of July, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the moratorium shortly after it ended. However, a ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined the moratorium did not apply in Tennessee and the surrounding states that it serves.
“Has the eviction moratorium affected me and other landlords in the state? Of course, it has,” Heath said. “When a tenant doesn’t pay their rent, it disrupts the chain of commerce. It could cause a ripple that effects banks and suppliers. It puts the entire burden of supporting these tenants in the laps of the landlords.”
Click here to apply for rent relief in Tennessee.
I applied to Biden’s rental relief program in MARCH. I still have not received any funds and am being hounded by my landlord. I even wrote to Gov Bill Lee to ask WHY funding in TN is not being distributed. No answer…
I have been trying to get assistance since June. Myself and my landlord have submitted all documents. We call and they say something else is needed, we use their portal to access information and there’s no info about anything needed. They make it impossible to get the much needed help.
This seems to be one of the biggest waste of tax payers money ever created. Like the previous post stated. They make excuse after excuse. They make you jump through hoops to get them documentation. You complete your assigned task. Then demand additional documentation but get this they dont create a task for it. You get them the information their asking for. Because no task was created and no time frame given they come back and say you didnt get the info on a timely basis and just arbitrary “WITHDRAW” your application. Why? Because they are not competent enough to do their job correctly. You wanna talk poor work ETHICS.
I applied for assistance In May , I have had “estimate” about 20 + correspondence emails with the THDA trying to find out why I cannot seam to get any funds.
Not once have I been given any useful information on how I could help speed up the process. Finally after about 4 1/2 months , I was told that the Landlord needed to supply additional information .
My Landlord has submitted EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED. I still have No Confirmation as to whether my application has been approved.
Now I understand that this must be a difficult job, reviewing the information submitted and verifying the legitimacy of those documents, however I cannot in perceive a situation where ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED has been submitted that a decision could not be. Made in a 6 month period.
If this is the best the state of TENNESSEE can do , than I believe the State Officials should terminate the project and return the funds provided by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
After researching just how many others are experiencing, or have experienced the same thing, one MUST question just where are these funds actually ending up at ? And why is the state saying they aren’t receiving many applications when that is clearly not the case.
I hate to even suggest that our government or hired officials might be stealing funds from people whom are truly in need of their help , but it really is the only thing that makes any sense.
The Federal Government supplied over 300 million dollars to the state of TENNESSEE for the specific purpose of helping renters in trouble. It is clear this is Not what it is being used for. Why is no one doing anything about this?
Have the AMERICAN. people become so used to their officials XXX them over that they just look the other way and go on, or is it that ………. YOUR ALL TO SCARED TO STAND UP AND LET THESE XXX KNOW WE ARE TIRED OF THEIR XXX AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I have been waiting for months with little response when I finally got approved I’ve been evicted. The reading says the money will come to me since the landlord isn’t taking it now. I called the number they were loud laughing like I got a college party or something like children they kept yelling and laughing wouldn’t listen they finally said well I can try to STOP the payment. I said no that isn’t what I want I want to talk to your supervisor she said he’s busy I’ll get him to call you back. My profile then changed from approved to waiting on landlord information. I have 3 small kids I’ve watched people who are single won’t work get so much money but me I work I can’t make it and I am looking at hotels.
Did you ever get it it’s been a year and half for me still says application under review
This is NOT true, they said they have stopped taking applications as of 5/15/2023.They would not accept any more applications…