States, cities running out of rental assistance monies

By MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press

The Treasury Department says several states and cities have exhausted their federal rental assistance in a sign that spending on a program aimed at averting evictions has picked up speed. The federal government is forecasting that upwards of $30 billion allocated for rental assistance will be disbursed by the end of the year. That is a dramatic change from this summer, when housing advocates were complaining about the slow pace of distribution. Congress authorized $46.5 billion in emergency rental assistance late last year. The initial rollout of the program was plagued by slow disbursement, with administration officials publicly blaming state and municipal partners for bottlenecks.