The federal eviction moratorium extension ended on Saturday in all but New York, and with the $600 per week unemployment benefit from the CARES Act also expiring at the end of the week, the U.S. is expected to see a wave of evictions.
This could all be avoided if the HEROES Act is signed this week.
On May 13, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced the HEROES Act, which includes $200 billion of additional funding for housing and homelessness programs. The HEROES Act passed in the House, but was labeled too “pricey” for some and is awaiting approval from the Senate.
Here is some of what the HEROES Act contains:
- $100 billion in emergency rental assistance known as the Emergency Rental Assistance Act and Rental Market Stabilization Act
- $11.5 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants to aid those experiencing homelessness
- $1 billion for first-year funding of 100,000 new emergency housing vouchers
- a $75 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund to provide homeowners with help covering mortgage payments, property taxes, utility payments and other housing payments
- Other funds for the Department of Housing and Urban Development
If signed, the HEROES Act would extend the current 120-day eviction moratorium originally stipulated in the CARES Act.
This would help renters in federally assisted properties with an incremental 12-month moratorium, and landlords would have to provide a 30-day notice of eviction to tenants after the new moratorium expires.
Homeowners would also be protected by the Act and will be granted a 60-day mortgage forbearance automatically if their mortgage became 60 days delinquent between March 13 and the day the bill was enacted, and they had not already received forbearance.
Under the Act, Multifamily property owners who receive forbearance will not be able to charge tenants late fees or penalties, report negative information to credit agencies, or evict tenants for nonpayment of rent.
