Rental Assistance

The Board of Aldermen returns in September, when a handful of bills designed to help tenants are likely to be introduced.

Over 2,300 households have been evicted in St. Louis and St. Louis County since the beginning of the pandemic. Some people have received rental aid from federal programs, but city and county officials say if not for eviction moratoriums and rental assistance programs, more people would have lost their homes.

The Illinois Department of Human Services is distributing additional rent help through faith-based organizations.

St. Louis County officials have distributed more than $18 million in emergency rental assistance funds, exceeding the amount the federal program requires the county to spend by September. Another round of funding is coming soon.

U.S. Rep. Cori Bush has introduced a bill that would give federal health officials the authority to implement federal eviction bans during a public health crisis.

St. Louis County officials have until the end of the month to distribute about $8 million more in federal rental aid. If the county does not do so, the money will be returned to the federal government.

The measure replaces the national moratorium from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 26.

Some renters in the St. Louis region could be put out of their homes soon now that the U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a federal ban on evictions. Housing advocates expect a wave of evictions if state and local officials do not process renters' aid applications soon.

St. Louis and St. Louis County judges on Friday rescinded eviction moratoriums aimed at keeping people in their homes. Attorneys for people who face evictions in the region say moratoriums kept families from being displaced during a public health crisis.

Some renters in the St. Louis region cannot pay rent because they lost their income during the economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. But landlords also are struggling, and without rent payments they may have to evict people after the federal ban on evictions expires in early October.