$8.2 million spent on rental housing for single-family was still evicted by the landlords in Detroit.

Photo from Poverty Solutions

Researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that the $8.2 million allocated for emergency rental assistance was spent on single-family Detroit properties, but landlords continued to move tenants and evict them within six months of payment. According to the new analysis of Alexa Eisenberg and Kate Brantley, the allocated fund for the pandemic emergency assistance did not guarantee the stability of housing in Detroit. The report made by the researchers stated, that the amount was much higher to fund the COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program. In Michigan News, for about 5,600 single-family rental properties — tenant was approved for one rent relief payment in between June 2021 and February 2022 in Detroit. According to the published article, the landlords evicted for 15% of tenants within six months of their last record in CERA’s approval date.

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Congress had issued an amount allocated for rent relief programs in 2021 $46.55 billion who were unable to pay their debts and rent during the pandemic. According to a researcher in Poverty Solutions, the landlords have made legal court systems to evict the tenants who were unable to comply with the payments and terminated their tenancies. The landlords have filed new eviction cases of 24,000 during the CERA period, leaving tenants with no choice but to risk their future stability. An authority spoke mentioned that tenants should file legal aid and seek others’ help before it will get to the court. For more information, click here.