For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Special appropriation spearheaded by Councilmember Glass
is one element of four-part solution to help provide housing
stability for low- and middle-income renters
ROCKVILLE, Md., April 20, 2020 –– At Tuesday’s 9:30 a.m. meeting the Montgomery County Council will introduce a special appropriation of two million dollars to be used for emergency eviction prevention and housing stabilization programs. Funds will be allocated to provide a short-term rental subsidy program to low and moderate-income households in response to the current state of emergency.
Councilmember Evan Glass, who is the Council’s Lead on Homelessness and Vulnerable Communities, is spearheading this appropriation, which is sponsored by the entire Council.
This support would be managed by the County’s Department of Health and Human Services to support programs administered by Services to End and Prevent Homelessness during the novel coronavirus Covid-19 public health emergency. This program will be time-limited and recipients would not be prevented from accepting a permanent subsidy program for which they are eligible. The County will seek federal and state reimbursement for program costs associated with the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before the pandemic crisis, approximately half of Montgomery County renters were cost burdened. A recent Urban Institute report noted that renters are less financially stable than homeowners; in 2018 one-in-five renters did not have $400 readily available if needed for unexpected costs. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed earlier this month by Congress, includes funding targeted to households that received federal aid prior to the pandemic but not specifically for low-income renter households who are eligible but do not receive federal aid.
In addition to the special appropriation, the Council has sent a letter initiated by Councilmember Glass to County Executive Marc Elrich requesting that he expand eligibility guidelines for rental assistance programs and to work with landlords to provide renters with a six-month transition period to meet rental obligations for vulnerable residents after the state of emergency has been lifted. The letter can be viewed here.
The Council staff report will be available here.
The Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on this special appropriation on April 28.
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Release ID: 20-162