Despite Worsening Housing Crisis, Gianforte Admin Pauses Rental Assistance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 19, 2023
CONTACT
hadley@montanademocrats.org
Renters Left in the Lurch Because Admin Failed to Distribute Funds or Staff Up
Helena, MT – Citing a three-month long backlog and ‘diminished funding’, the Department of Commerce is pausing their rental assistance program – that currently serves 12,000 Montanans and ensures that hardworking Montana residents can afford to stay in their homes as the state faces an increasingly severe housing crisis.
As Montana renters are being left in the lurch with little warning that their rental assistance will no longer cover their rent, we want to know: how did it get to this?
Why are the Rental Assistance funds “diminished”?
The federal government clawed back $98 million in Rental Assistance from Montana because the Gianforte Administration failed to disburse funds to those who needed the help. As of September 2022, the state had failed to distribute almost a third of the $350 million in Emergency Rental Assistance that Montana received from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
What’s being done to solve staffing shortages at Agencies?
Gianforte’s tenure as Governor has been marked by chronic understaffing across state agencies– hobbling his administration’s ability to carry out the critical day-to-day work of government.
“During one of the most severe affordable housing crises the state has faced, the Gianforte Administration's choice to pause Rental Assistance will only exacerbate the crisis. They returned $100 million back to D.C. instead of into the pockets of Montanans struggling to afford their rent, and now they say they don’t have funding. ” says Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “Montanans need solutions to the housing affordability crisis now, and deserve a Governor who will take this crisis seriously.”
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