Flood of evictions predicted with end of pandemic moratorium never happened, but COVID rental relief is running out

The flood of evictions many housing advocates expected after the eviction moratorium was struck down in court last summer did not materialize. Officials point to multiple efforts to help millions of people stay in their homes, including the $46 billion in rental relief funneled through state and local governments, which has amounted to more than 4.7 million payments to help people avoid evictions during the pandemic. 

But most of that money will be used by the middle of this year, Treasury Department officials say. Despite a slow start last year, officials announced on Wednesday that approximately $30 billion in emergency rental assistance was spent or obligated as of the end of February.

President Biden has signaled affordable housing was a top priority with his proposed 2023 budget unveiled earlier this week, but money for measures to increase affordable housing lies in the hands of Congress.