N.H. emergency rental assistance funding could dry up at the end of this year - New Hampshire Public Radio

This communicative was primitively produced by the Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it successful concern with the Granite State News Collaborative.

Federal backing is acceptable to extremity Dec. 29 for a rental assistance programme that has provided much than $230 cardinal statewide to assistance thousands of radical enactment successful their homes.

Gov. Chris Sununu said successful a written connection Thursday evening that officials learned hours earlier that the authorities would not beryllium fixed the $67 cardinal successful backing it had requested successful the 2nd circular of the national Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

“With skyrocketing inflation, acold upwind and the vacation season, this is the implicit worst clip for the national authorities to instrumentality this step,” helium said.

He sent a missive to the New Hampshire legislature delegation Thursday, asking them to impulse the U.S. Treasury Department to reconsider its backing decision.

“Please basal up and close this incorrect for the state,” helium said successful the letter.

In a written connection Friday, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the delegation would bash everything it could, but besides said Sununu created the occupation by being excessively dilatory to walk wealth provided successful the program’s archetypal round.

“We did our occupation — we secured New Hampshire its just stock of national dollars to supply rental assistance and delivered it to the State,” she said.

“The Governor’s nonaccomplishment to get these dollars retired the doorway successful a timely manner is simply a effect of his mismanagement oregon mediocre knowing of the program, neither of which look to beryllium shared by different States, cities and counties that managed to efficiently get their backing retired to residents.”

Earlier sum from NHPR, February 2022: State, national officials code the presumption of New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance funding

More than 23,000 users of the programme person received assistance with rent arsenic good arsenic inferior and home-energy costs, according to authorities figures.

New Hampshire Housing — a self-supporting nationalist corp that promotes, finances and supports affordable lodging successful the authorities — helps administer the effort.

The enactment issued a connection Friday saying nary caller applications would beryllium taken for the programme pending a reappraisal and a determination of whether much national backing would beryllium available.

Southwestern Community Services implements the programme for Cheshire and Sullivan counties Beth Daniels, its main enforcement officer, said successful an email Friday she was engaged trying to negociate changes arising from the backing decision, but didn’t person clip to remark further.

In an interrogation 2 weeks ago, she said request for rental assistance jumped implicit the past 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve ne'er seen truthful overmuch need, paired with anxiety,” she said.

Meanwhile, flat vacancy rates person dropped beneath 1% locally and statewide, which means that if idiosyncratic loses their housing, it could beryllium precise hard to find a replacement.

She besides said determination were nary casual answers connected however to put rental assistance erstwhile the backing dries up.

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is funded by the U.S. Treasury Department, with $25 cardinal from the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act to expire astatine the extremity of this year, and different $21.5 cardinal from the American Rescue Plan Act, which has an expenditure deadline of Sept. 20, 2025.

Qualifications see that the household indispensable beryllium astatine hazard for homelessness. This tin beryllium shown, for example, by past owed rent oregon eviction notices oregon the request to walk much than 30% of income connected rent and utilities.

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