REALTOR® Efforts Help Secure Rental Assistance in COVID-19 Relief Legislation
Louisiana REALTORS • December 22, 2020
Source:
National Association of REALTORS®
The National Association of Realtors® secured key victories in COVID-19 relief legislation that cleared the U.S. Senate & House of Representatives overnight, including various key tax extenders, additional support for the Paycheck Protection Program and funding for rental assistance. Roughly 38% of NAR's 1.4 million members own at least one rental property throughout the U.S.
"NAR has been one of the loudest voices in Washington advocating for rental assistance these past few months," said NAR President Charlie Oppler, a Realtor® from Franklin Lakes, N.J., and the CEO of Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty. "While Realtors® worked to ensure thousands of American families would not go homeless, it was clear that broad, ongoing eviction moratoriums were jeopardizing the very housing opportunities we were trying to protect.
"More than 40% of rental units nationally are owned by 'mom and pop'-operated small businesses, many of which have been struggling to pay their bills and keep a roof over their tenants' heads. Rental assistance helps stabilize that housing and keep families in their homes, and we're grateful that Congress could secure this and other critical relief measures in this legislation."
More specifically, the agreement:
- Provides $25 billion to the states through September 30, 2022, for rental assistance and allows landlords to apply for funds on behalf of tenants.
- Includes payments for rent as well as utilities and other expenses related to housing
- Provides a new round of direct stimulus payments of $600 to most Americans
- Extends all unemployment assistance including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), through April 19, 2021, with a $300 weekly boost in payments through March 14.
- Unemployment benefits are extended to the self-employed
- Provides hundreds of billions in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program and for Economic Injury Disaster Loans
- Allows certain eligible businesses to receive a second PPP loan
- Creates a simplified forgiveness process for most PPP borrowers
- Allows for deductibility of business expenses paid for with PPP funds
- Extends for five years the exclusion from income for mortgage debt forgiveness and permanently extends the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction
- Increases fair housing funding
- Provides $7 billion to states for broadband expansion, including $300 million for rural broadband
- Provides new money for schools and vaccine distribution
- Congressional leaders will begin consideration of the agreement Monday alongside a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 2021.
In-depth analysis of these provisions created for REALTORS® is available here: NAR's Federal Advocacy Responses to COVID-19.
From the Louisiana Department of Insurance: Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple joined Governor Jeff Landry and Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Kirk Talbot today to announce that Louisiana is investing an additional $20 million in Fortified homes, bringing the total amount invested in state Fortified projects this year to $100 million. Governor Landry announced that $20 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be transferred to the Louisiana Office of Community Development Restore Resilient Opportunities for Overhead Fortification (Restore ROOF) program to strengthen residential structures and reduce long-term disaster risk. Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a bill that allows $50 million in additional Katrina and Rita bond money from Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to be added to the Department of Insurance’s Louisiana Fortify Homes Program (LFHP). Also beginning this year, LFHP is projected to receive approximately $30 million annually from taxes and fees the Louisiana Department of Insurance collects from the insurance industry. “Building stronger homes is a vital part of making homeowners insurance affordable in Louisiana,” said Commissioner Temple. “I appreciate Governor Landry’s leadership and support as we work with legislators like Chairman Talbot to make Louisiana a national leader in the adoption of Fortified roofs.” The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) has finalized its promulgation of Regulation 136—Fortify Homes Premium Discounts. The purpose of Regulation 136 is to implement the statutory provisions set forth in La. R.S. 22:1483, et seq. , which require that all Louisiana property and casualty insurers provide premium discounts or insurance rate reductions for homes constructed or upgraded in accordance with the fortified standards created by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. View Regulation 136 here .
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