WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday announced it was pushing back its takeover of hurricane recovery housing until December. Meanwhile, everyone from Gov. Kathleen Blanco to Louisiana housing advocates expressed concern over HUD’s plan to drop housing rental payments to hurricane victims by $50 a month beginning in March. Blanco pointed to a recent report that showed rental rates are still close to 30 percent higher than pre-storm levels in the New Orleans area. “If this trend continues, HUD’s drop in rental assistance will mean fewer families can afford to move closer to home,” Blanco said in a statement.
HUD announced in April that it would be taking over the hurricane recovery housing from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. At the time, it also announced the drop in rental assistance payments. A family who is living in an $850 a month rental apartment would be required to contribute $50 toward the rent starting in March. The amount would rise to $100 in April and $150 in May and continue rising each month.
HUD announced Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with 200 public housing agencies along the Gulf Coast to monitor rental housing while also providing aid such as counseling and job services. “The extensive case management that (public housing agencies) can provide will prepare families for the gradual decline in housing assistance to independence that will occur next spring,” HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said in a statement.
About 8,000 Louisiana families are still receiving federal rental assistance, according to HUD. By law, the federal government was only required to provide the assistance for 18 months. By March, it will have provided the aid 30 months. Raymond Jetson, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Louisiana Family Recovery Corps in Baton Rouge, said that after two years it expected the federal government to begin an exit strategy as it pertains to hurricane recovery housing.
Jetson’s concern, however, is that those who more critically need housing support will face financial hardship. “As a result, you’ll have a lot of people put in precarious situations,” Jetson said. “It will create a lot of angst for people who are already dealing with a lot of stress in their life.”
Louisiana Recovery Authority Executive Director Andy Kopplin said that although the possibility of reducing the rents had been discussed, he was unaware of any formal announcement until Tuesday. Louisiana will have about 30,000 affordable rental units built but not before March, he said.
“There remains a severe housing crisis in south Louisiana, in particular in the city of New Orleans,” Kopplin said. “Our concern is that the timeline in reducing assistance does not match the timeline for affordable housing coming back on line.”
Source: The Advocate