Austin-area cities and counties have spent millions in federal rental assistance dollars during the coronavirus pandemic. But with that money largely gone, uncertainty about whether more funding is on the horizon and many area residents still struggling to pay their rent, local housing advocates say they are concerned about a potential rise in evictions in coming months.
“Unfortunately, I think we’re seeing this huge cliff,” said Juliet Hayes, a paralegal who works with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid’s Texas Tenant Eviction Relief Project. “December, even in non-COVID years, is when requests for rental assistance tend to really spike. I think that there needs to be something implemented long term.”
It’s difficult to pinpoint the total amount of federal rental assistance money that came to Central Texas, but the state of Texas, as well as a number of Austin-area municipalities, received funds from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
The program placed specific guidelines on cities and counties for disbursing the money, including spending only 10% of the grant on administrative costs, using the money for rental or utility assistance alone, and spending 30% of the grant by Nov. 15 — or risk having to give back some of the money. The city of Austin, Travis County and Hays County were among 36 other Texas agencies to receive the funds.
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The city of Austin said last month that it had spent the more than $35 million it received to cover rent costs for 8,298 Austin households dealing with financial pressures because of COVID-19 related issues. An additional $6.7 million from the Austin General Reserve Funds has been allocated for rental assistance, according to the city.
Travis County has paid out about $10.2 million in assistance to 2,823 households. County officials said they prioritized Travis County residents outside Austin city limits who were at risk of being evicted due to financial hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The county said it was closing its application portal Sunday, as applications already in hand have met or exceeded the money available.
The statewide Texas Rent Relief Program also stopped accepting applications after distributing more than $1.6 billion to more than 275,000 Texas households. The Austin, Travis County and statewide funds might reopen for applications if more money is secured, but that remains uncertain.
Hays County was one of several Texas entities that failed to distribute the required amount of money by the U.S. Treasury Department’s deadline. An audit by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that the county had spent only 2.4% of the $6.9 million it received, and KUT reported that the county risked losing $800,000 of the unspent funds. The Treasury Department has yet to take back any money, according to county spokesperson Kim Hilsenbeck.
As of Friday, Hays County had distributed $442,150.24 to people who needed rent and utility relief — about 15%. Although Hays County received the federal funds in January, Hilsenbeck said fund distribution didn’t begin until the summer, after county commissioners decided to build an internal system instead of hiring an outside contractor.
The Blanco River Regional Recovery Team, a nonprofit disaster recovery organization that serves Hays, Blanco, Guadalupe and Caldwell counties, managed a previous Hays County rental assistance program funded by 2020 federal COVID-19 relief money that handled distribution in the beginning of this year. The organization submitted an unsuccessful bid to manage Hays County’s program again but did end up working with another organization to distribute rental relief checks from the city of San Marcos’ CARES Act funds.
Austin-area cities and counties also allocated millions of dollars from their general funds or from less restricted CARES Act grants to help low-income residents pay their rent, resume lapsed mortgage payments or cover utility costs.
Williamson County used a portion of $8 million in CARES Act funds to run its own rental assistance program, partnering with four nonprofits in the county to pay out about $5.6 million to 4,923 households, according to the county.
The Round Rock Serving Center, one of the nonprofits working with Williamson County, disbursed about $1.4 million of the county’s CARES Act funding for housing assistance in 2021 alone, according to Executive Director Lori Scott.
The Round Rock Serving Center ran a rental assistance program before the pandemic but usually could give families only about $250 a month. With the CARES Act money from Williamson County, Scott said the center was able to give some families $1,000 to $1,500.
The last federal dollars were spent in November, Scott said, and the center has returned to offering much smaller housing assistance grants.
“People are still in need, and people are still requesting assistance,” Scott said.
Advocates say more help is needed
Housing advocates say it is concerning that several local government entities, including Austin and Travis County, have exhausted their housing assistance funds, as there are many people who still need help — especially during the holidays.
Carole Belver, executive director of Community Action Inc. of Central Texas, said the San Marcos-based nonprofit just wrote what’s probably its last rental assistance check last week.
The nonprofit received CARES Act funding the city of San Marcos intended for housing assistance and has distributed $610,495 for rent relief, $16,602 for mortgage assistance and $16,780 for utility payments. There’s still some funds available for mortgage assistance, Belver said.
“There’s still need,” Belver said. “I think we really need more rental assistance money out here for people who aren’t making the kind of money they were making before COVID hit, or need to stay home.”
At Texas RioGrande Legal Aid’s Texas Tenant Eviction Relief Project, paralegal Juliet Hayes helps local residents navigate eviction cases and apply for assistance that can keep them in their homes and out of court.
Though she said many of the local rental assistance programs have helped keep a lot of vulnerable and low-income families in their homes, not everyone has been able to benefit. Some undocumented residents or those in families with mixed legal statuses have been wary of providing information to government agencies, and residents with disabilities have struggled to complete applications. Sometimes landlords simply don’t cooperate, Hayes said.
“The majority of the (current eviction) cases are nonpayment cases, and there are still so many people who haven’t applied to this program and end up being evicted,” Hayes said. “It has reached a lot of people, but unfortunately it hasn’t reached everyone. A lot more people could be housed if they knew about these programs.”
This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of Texas households who received rental relief from the Texas Rent Relief Program.
