The following policy brief was prepared by, Vanessa Raymond-Garcia, Policy Analyst, as part of her work on the intersections of racial equity and COVID-19 recovery.
While significant investments have been made to arrest COVID-19’s effects in Pennsylvania and throughout the country, from vaccine distribution to billions of dollars in aid to help people get back on their feet, the public health crisis continues to have a disproportionate impact on persons of color, many of whom are part of low-income households.
Those communities most at risk for COVID-19 and with the least access to vaccinations are the same communities most threatened by evictions and utility terminations. Estimates show that 15% of renters nationwide are not caught up on their rent, with rates twice as high among non-white groups when compared to white renters. In Pennsylvania, an estimated 23% of renters are not caught up on rent. A further breakdown of this data for Pennsylvania shows an estimated 48% of Hispanic/Latino, 31% of Black, and 37% of Asian households are not currently caught up on rent payments as of July 5, compared to 16% of white renters. Providing a wide range of timely and accessible data that has been collected by administering agencies and organizations will go a long way to better targeting relief to communities that are in most need. While this has not been done on a statewide scale in Pennsylvania, it is not yet too late to do so.
There continues to be a lack of acknowledgment of the “invisible” burdens many are facing, especially marginalized racial and ethnic communities. Given the foreshadow of a longer recovery ahead for these communities, RHLS recommends a targeted approach to ensure communities are not once again left behind in the wake of disaster. Many vulnerable individuals and families will remain in debt for rent, utility, and other basic need payments unless targeted efforts are made to equitably distribute federal emergency assistance. This brief provides an analysis of Pennsylvania’s rental assistance programs and offers recommendations for the Commonwealth to ensure a fair and equitable response to the looming eviction crisis.
State-level Recommendations
- Adopt moratoria at the local, county, and state levels to allow more time for renters across the entire Commonwealth to receive ERAP funds for arrears, as the extended national moratorium no longer exists as of August 27.
- Authorize county courts to require rental assistance applications and alternative dispute resolution before an eviction filing. A priority for programs at every level should be to make renters and landlords aware that aid is available given more than half of renters and 40 percent of landlords do not know emergency rental assistance even exists.
Department of Human Services and County-level Recommendations
- Create a statewide public dashboard for ERAP including indicators outlined by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.
- Include targeted program criteria to ensure and require equitable distribution of funds to priority populations.
- Partner with trusted and local community organizations in hardest hit areas to widely market the emergency rental assistance program.
Click to download the full report.
Need more information on the Emergency Rental Assistance Program? Click to download this flyer.
This report is made possible in part by support from The Heinz Endowments.