October 25, 2021 

Dear Emergency Rental Assistance Program Grantee:

I am writing to follow up on my October 4, 2021 letter outlining Treasury’s guidance on the 

reallocation of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funds. Today I am writing to provide 

additional information on the reallocation process and to highlight sources of federal funds 

beyond ERA that are available to state and local governments to support vulnerable households 

and prevent evictions. 

As I wrote last month, this statutory reallocation process is a critical step towards ensuring 

additional funds are made available to grantees with a proven capacity to deliver ERA in 

jurisdictions where families remain at serious risk of eviction or housing instability. Treasury 

will begin identifying excess funds for potential reallocation in mid-November. As funds become 

available for reallocation, they will be distributed in tranches and with ample advance notice — 

reallocation will not be a “first-come, first-served” process. The distribution of reallocated funds 

will be undertaken according to the following priorities: 

1. Treasury will first prioritize requests from grantees serving jurisdictions in the same state

where the excess funds were initially allocated.

2. When recaptured funds remain after accounting for same-state priority, Treasury will

then prioritize grantees that are close to expending all their initial ERA1 funds and the

funding authorized earlier this year by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ERA2).

Treasury will prioritize grantees based on their expenditures of funds in order to keep

money flowing to programs that are the most efficient in meeting the needs of American

families. We encourage grantees with a significant backlog of obligations to take steps to

speed the delivery of funds to households in need.

3. Funds that are not distributed based on the first two priorities will be available in a single

pool for reallocation nationwide. As described in Treasury’s reallocation guidance, the

pool of funding available for reallocation nationally will be distributed proportionally to

grantees based on their relative need.

As described in Treasury’s reallocation guidance, Treasury will continue to assess grantees’ 

expenditure ratios every two months to determine whether they have excess funds. Based on 

these assessments and the additional funding requests submitted by grantees, Treasury will 

periodically reallocate recaptured funds. Treasury will continue to recapture and reallocate 

excess funds as warranted, so additional funds will be made available over time.

We recognize that grantees that are rapidly depleting their current ERA resources may be 

concerned about near-term funding needs and the ability to continue operating while awaiting 

additional disbursements through the reallocation process. We want to remind grantees that, in 

addition to the funding from the ERA program, the American Rescue Plan’s State and Local 

THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 

WASHINGTON 
Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) can also be used to help prevent evictions and help provide 

stable housing for vulnerable populations. 

***** 

The threat of eviction, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, remains a fact of life for too 

many households across the country. Today, we are urging ERA grantees to take advantage of all 

sources of funding available to them to ensure the continuity of their rental assistance programs. 

At the same time, we are continuing to work every day to get additional funds into the hands of 

grantees, landlords, and tenants who need them. We are grateful for your ongoing commitment 

to protecting renters at risk as we work toward the first stage of the reallocation process. To 

continue this effort, Treasury is now publishing the three standard forms referenced in the 

reallocation guidance: 

• Obligated Funds Certification: allows grantees to report and certify the amount of

ERA1 funds they have obligated.

• Program Improvement Plan: allows grantees to describe measures they will take to

avoid an excess funds designation by improving their obligation rates and expenditure

ratios.

• Request for Reallocated Funds: allows grantees to request ERA funds Treasury makes

available for redistribution and to confirm needs in their jurisdiction.

Instructions for completing these forms are included with this letter.

Sincerely,
Instructions for the ERA1 Reallocation Process

All forms, along with any supporting documents related to the reallocation process, should be 

submitted to emergencyrentalassistance@treasury.gov with the subject lines noted below. 

Please see Treasury’s ERA1 reallocation guidance for further information. 

1. Grantees that obligated 65% or more of their ERA1 allocations as of September 30, 2021

should immediately complete an Obligated Funds Certification form and submit it with

the subject line “65% Obligation Certification – [Name of Grantee].”

2. Grantees that did not obligate 65% or more of their ERA1 allocation as of September 30,

2021 should submit a Program Improvement Plan no later than November 15, 2021 with

the subject line “Program Improvement Plan - [Name of Grantee].

3. Grantees that had an expenditure ratio for their ERA1 allocation below 30% as of

September 30, 2021 should also submit a Program Improvement Plan no later than

November 15, 2021. Submission may mitigate any determination that the grantee has

excess funds subject to recapture. The Program Improvement Plan form should be

submitted with the subject line “Program Improvement Plan - [Name of Grantee].”

4. Grantees that want to request reallocated ERA1 funds as soon as they are made available

should submit a Request for Reallocated Funds form by November 30, 2021. When

completing the form, grantees should provide reasonable projections of future rental

assistance expenditures that take into account both (i) the level of need in the grantee’s

jurisdiction and (ii) the grantee’s actual capacity to deploy the requested funding. The

first tranche of available reallocated ERA1 funds will be distributed based on information

in requests received through November 30, 2021. Any requests received thereafter will

be used for the distribution of the second tranche of reallocated ERA1 funds. The

Request for Reallocated Funds form should be submitted with the subject line “Request

for Reallocated Funds – [Name of Grantee].”

5. Any grantee that seeks to voluntarily reallocate funds should submit a letter from an

authorized signatory documenting the grantee’s willingness to voluntarily reallocate

ERA1 funds. The letter must include the amount of funding that the grantee seeks to

reallocate and may include recommendations about how that funding might be

redistributed to other grantees in the same state. In addition, the grantee should review

the voluntary reallocation procedures described in Section IV of the reallocation

guidance. The Request for Reallocated Funds form should be submitted with the subject

line: “Request for Reallocated Funds - [Name of Grantee].”

Treasury may release further instructions to guide grantees as the reallocation process continues 

to move forward.