The Akron Beacon-Journal recently published a powerful article outlining the plight of renters after foreclosures occur. The article features the Neidenthal family of Springfield Township, Section 8 tenants who faithfully paid their rent on time but were evicted with only ten days notice after the owner of the property they were renting lost the home through foreclosure. The Neidenthals received no notice that the homeowner was having difficulty paying the mortgage. After the foreclosure, the Neidenthals lived in the basement of a family member for three months, before finding new rental housing.
The new economic stimulus package offers communities resources to help families like the Neidenthals.
NPACH and other partners secured $1.5 billion on homelessness prevention funds, to be distributed through state and local grantees of HUD's Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) program. These ESG funds can be used to provide families with moving expenses, a new security deposit to replace a deposit not refunded by a landlord, and even short or medium term rental assistance. If this assistance had been available for the Neidenthal family, they would likely have been able to avoid their three months of homelessness.
NPACH is also advocating for strong tenant protections, to keep Section 8 voucher holders and other families in their homes for as long as possible after a foreclosure. We are hopeful that Congress will enact tenant protections to serve as a floor, and that many states will choose to go beyond any legislation that is approved at the federal level.
***In the next several days, NPACH will post a detailed summary of key provisions in the economic stimulus package, including the ESG funding referred to in this post.***