The rental assistance program is administered statewide by the Department of Community Affairs, and it offers federal funds covering up to 18 months in rent and utility bills. The department has so far struggled to distribute its first allotment of federal funding despite what experts and advocates call a clear housing need.
Georgia has reallocated $228 million of its $552 million in federal aid to other rental assistance programs in the state. Georgia ranks near last in distributing money intended to help
The American Jobs Plan, President Joe Biden’s proposal to bolster U.S. infrastructure and modernize the economy, is also a plan to fulfil the administration’s commitment to affordable, safe, and fair housing. In terms of housing, the centerpiece of the proposal is $213 billion to produce, preserve, and retrofit houses and apartment buildings. If well-managed and strategically invested, these funds could go a long way toward increasing the supply of affordable housing in this country, a desperately needed change. But improving housing stability and addressing the ongoing eviction crisis only temporarily held in check by an unprecedented array of federal, state, and local protections for renters requires more: an investment in the data infrastructure necessary to root out discrimination, ensure tenants’ rights, and target hazardous housing conditions.