By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Gov. Chris Sununu and the state’s Executive Council were told New Hampshire’s five regional Community Action Partnership or CAP agencies are working hard to release millions of federal dollars in rent and utility assistance for those in peril of losing their homes.
Sununu complained that the federal guidelines for distributing those funds have slowed the process down with some states not even having released 10 percent of their allocations.
The CAPs have released over $30 million in housing rental and utility assistance for those in peril of losing their homes due to the pandemic said Sununu’s spokesman, Ben Vihstadt said as of last week, over $30 million in NHERAP funding has gone out to help nearly 4,500 households through the state’s NHERAP program which began March 15.
Individuals interested in applying should call 2-1-1 or visit CAPNH.org. or their regional CAP office.
In an email reply to InDepthNH.org’s request for data, Vihstadt noted that at the start of the pandemic, the state worked with families and landlords to avoid evictions when possible by providing more than $15 million in rental assistance by leveraging CARES Act funds.
“Building off these efforts, the state is currently providing assistance through the New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program (NHERAP). Under NHERAP, eligible households can receive assistance for past due, current, and future rent, as well as other expenses for a total period of 12 months. There is $180 million in available federal funding through NHERAP,” Vihstadt said.
There is still about $150 million in U.S. Treasury funds that have not yet been distributed and renters can apply online for up to 15 months of rental help or 12 months of utility assistance until the end of this year, while funds remain available.
Adding to the efforts is the state court system which is working to get the money into the hands of landlords before evictions tie up the court dockets.
Sununu signed into law Senate Bill 126 which bars evictions for nonpayment for rent if tenants have paid or have qualified for rental assistance.
Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, asked about the eviction moratorium during Wednesday’s council meeting in Keene and asked how the state is equipped to deal with it.
Christine Santaniello, associate commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said right now the CAP agencies are “really working hard to get a lot of dollars out to keep people in their homes.”
She said the state is hoping to target some of the funds to create more housing stock.
At the same time, she noted, the state is looking at some funds from federal Housing and Urban Development and New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority to allow shelters to receive funding for non-congregate housing sites.
These include unused buildings, hotels, and motels.
“If we take these to potentially renovate, and then when those dollars go away, we can repurpose some of our housing,” she said.
An emergency meeting of the legislative Fiscal Committee was held on Tuesday, and Santaniello said dollars were allocated to work with local communities to target housing.
Kenney asked about a potential increase in homelessness, noting in his district in the north of the state, there is a significant concern for the potential for additional homeless.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday extended until Oct. 3 the federal moratorium on evictions, allowing for more time to distribute funds to landlords.
Housing Stability
A related subject was also discussed during the council meeting when Santaniello mentioned the state Housing Stability Report had just been released.
The New Hampshire Council on Housing Stability released its strategic plan last month https://nhchs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Council-on-Housing-Stability-2021%E2%80%942024-Strategic-Plan.pdf
It lays strategies to increase affordable housing stock, which is seen by many as a major economic growth barrier.
The plan seeks to add 13,500 housing units by 2024.
A press release related to the strategic plan is here https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/media/pr/2021/07092021-housing-stability.htm#:~:text=Led%20by%20DHHS%20in%20partnership,and%20one%2Dtime%20whenever%20possible.
Sununu said the new housing report is a tremendous guide for what the state and local governments need to do to solve the housing dilemma.
“I want to commend them. It really came out tremendously well,” he said.
Courts
Sununu said he asked state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald to work on preventing homelessness and evictions within the courts.
But his message to the thousands of residents now struggling to pay the rent and utilities because of work slow or stoppage: get online or on the phone to 2-1-1 and get the ball rolling.
The money is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is available until the end of 2021.
Judges, he said, are stepping up because they don’t want the backlog and they are working with tenants and landlords to get that money out.
The state has a dashboard on housing assistance at https://www.goferr.nh.gov/transparency/nherap-dashboard which shows that by far the largest region of the state receiving the funds is Hillsborough County with more than $10 million already allocated.
Vihstadt said the governor has urged the federal government in a letter to broaden its interpretation of the guidance so that the state can build more affordable housing to help those struggling with the cost of housing in New Hampshire.
“It’s important to put everything in context,” said Vihstadt. “The stipulations the federal government put in place to receive funding are incredibly burdensome, which has slowed down many state’s efforts in rapidly getting funding out. More than half of all states have not even distributed 10 percent of their first allocations – which New Hampshire has already exceeded, according to NBC news.”