Miami-Dade says it kept 6,000-plus families in their homes with rental assistance

Miami-Dade County officials gathered Friday to hail their success in spending $60.8 million in federal emergency rental assistance, which they said has translated to helping more than 6,000 area families stay in their homes

The assistance helped provide a bridge as uncertainty continued to reign about the threat of evictions.

“The critical work that all these people did together has helped people stay in their homes, prevented mass homelessness, (and) protect landlord incomes, even though the pandemic has continued,” said Miami

Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

The funds for the program, known as ERAP, were made available through Congress’ Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Nationwide, county officials said, less than 30% of rental assistance funds have been distributed to tenants and landlords in need.

By spending all its funds, the county qualifies for additional assistance from monies that have been swept from jurisdictions that did not reach a 65% expenditure rate, as well as funding from the federal American Recovery Program.

“We know people are suffering,” Levine Cava said. “And they need it and they need more help, and we are bringing more dollars, and they will have more help.”

Those funds will come in handy because the ongoing need remains “enormous,” said Annie Lord, executive director of Miami Homes For All.

“It’s a huge lift for the county to deliver that much money,” she said, “And it means they’re going to be able to deploy more — it means more will be coming.”

BY SPENDING ALL ITS FUNDS, THE COUNTY QUALIFIES FOR ADDITIONAL AID.

DANIEL A. VARELA dvarela@miamiherald.com Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in July the county had reopened its rental assistance program and would offer a number of other programs to assist renters at risk of eviction once the CDC moratorium ended.