I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1725 
To provide emergency assistance for renters to respond to the COVID– 
19 pandemic, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2021 
Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To provide emergency assistance for renters to respond to 
the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Assistance 
for Renters Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE. 
(a) FUNDING.— 
(1) APPROPRIATION.—In addition to amounts 
otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Sec-
retary of the Treasury for fiscal year 2021, out of 
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any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated, $21,550,000,000, to remain available until 
September 30, 2027, for making payments to eligi-
ble grantees under this section. 
(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amount 
appropriated under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
shall reserve— 
(A) $305,000,000 for making payments 
under this section to the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, and American Samoa; 
(B) $30,000,000 for costs of the Secretary 
for the administration of emergency rental as-
sistance programs and technical assistance to 
recipients of any grants made by the Secretary 
to provide financial and other assistance to 
renters; 
(C) $3,000,000 for administrative expenses 
of the Inspector General relating to oversight of 
funds provided in this section; and 
(D) $2,500,000,000 for payments to high 
need grantees as provided in this section. 
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO ELIGIBLE GRANT-
EES.— 
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(1) ALLOCATION FOR STATES AND UNITS OF 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The amount appro-
priated under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) 
that remains after the application of paragraph 
(2) of such subsection shall be allocated to eligi-
ble grantees described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of subsection (f)(1) in the same man-
ner as the amount appropriated under section 
501 of subtitle A of title V of division N of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public 
Law 116–260) is allocated to States and units 
of local government under subsection (b)(1) of 
such section, except that section 501(b) of such 
subtitle A shall be applied— 
(i) without regard to clause (i) of 
paragraph (1)(A); 
(ii) by deeming the amount appro-
priated under paragraph (1) of subsection 
(a) of this Act that remains after the ap-
plication of paragraph (2) of such sub-
section to be the amount deemed to apply 
for purposes of applying clause (ii) of sec-
tion 501(b)(1)(A) of such subtitle A; 
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(iii) by substituting ‘‘$152,000,000’’ 
for ‘‘$200,000,000’’ each place such term 
appears; 
(iv) in subclause (I) of such section 
501(b)(1)(A)(v), by substituting ‘‘under 
section 2 of the Emergency Assistance for 
Renters Act of 2021’’ for ‘‘under section 
501 of subtitle A of title V of division N 
of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2021’’; and 
(v) in subclause (II) of such section 
501(b)(1)(A)(v), by substituting ‘‘local 
government elects to receive funds from 
the Secretary under section 2 of the Emer-
gency Assistance for Renters Act of 2021 
and will use the funds in a manner con-
sistent with such section’’ for ‘‘local gov-
ernment elects to receive funds from the 
Secretary under section 501 of subtitle A 
of title V of division N of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021 and will use the 
funds in a manner consistent with such 
section’’. 
(B) PRO
RATA
ADJUSTMENT.—The Sec-
retary shall make pro rata adjustments in the 
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amounts of the allocations determined under 
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for entities 
described in such subparagraph as necessary to 
ensure that the total amount of allocations 
made pursuant to such subparagraph does not 
exceed the remainder appropriated amount de-
scribed in such subparagraph. 
(2) ALLOCATIONS
FOR
TERRITORIES.—The 
amount reserved under subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be 
allocated to eligible grantees described in subsection 
(f)(1)(C) in the same manner as the amount appro-
priated under section 501(a)(2)(A) of subtitle A of 
title V of division N of the Consolidated Appropria-
tions Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is allocated 
under section 501(b)(3) of such subtitle A to eligible 
grantees described under subparagraph (C) of such 
section 501(b)(3), except that section 501(b)(3) of 
such subtitle A shall be applied— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘of 
section 2 of the Emergency Assistance for 
Renters Act of 2021’’ after ‘‘the amount re-
served under subsection (a)(2)(A)’’; and 
(B) in clause (i) of subparagraph (B), by 
substituting ‘‘the amount equal to 0.3 percent 
of the amount appropriated under subsection 
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(a)(1)’’ with ‘‘the amount equal to 0.3 percent 
of the amount appropriated under subsection 
(a)(1) of section 2 of the Emergency Assistance 
for Renters Act of 2021’’. 
(3) HIGH-NEED
GRANTEES.—The Secretary 
shall allocate funds reserved under subsection 
(a)(2)(D) to eligible grantees with a high need for 
assistance under this section, with the number of 
very low-income renter households paying more than 
50 percent of income on rent or living in sub-
standard or overcrowded conditions, rental market 
costs, and change in employment since February 
2020 used as the factors for allocating funds. 
(c) PAYMENT SCHEDULE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pay all 
eligible grantees not less than 40 percent of each 
such eligible grantee’s total allocation provided 
under subsection (b) within 60 days of enactment of 
this Act. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT
PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall pay to eligible grantees additional amounts in 
tranches up to the full amount of each such eligible 
grantee’s total allocation in accordance with a proce-
dure established by the Secretary, provided that any 
such procedure established by the Secretary shall re-
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quire that an eligible grantee must have obligated 
not less than 75 percent of the funds already dis-
bursed by the Secretary pursuant to this section 
prior to disbursement of additional amounts. 
(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—An eligible grantee shall 
only use the funds provided from payments made 
under this section as follows: 
(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii) of this subparagraph, funds received by 
an eligible grantee from payments made 
under this section shall be used to provide 
financial assistance to eligible households, 
not to exceed 18 months, including the 
payment of— 
(I) rent; 
(II) rental arrears; 
(III) utilities and home energy 
costs; 
(IV) utilities and home energy 
costs arrears; and 
(V) other expenses related to 
housing, as defined by the Secretary. 
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(ii) 
LIMITATION.—The 
aggregate 
amount of financial assistance an eligible 
household may receive under this section, 
when combined with financial assistance 
provided under section 501 of subtitle A of 
title V of division N of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 
116–260), shall not exceed 18 months. 
(B) HOUSING STABILITY SERVICES.—Not 
more than 10 percent of funds received by an 
eligible grantee from payments made under this 
section may be used to provide case manage-
ment and other services intended to help keep 
households stably housed. 
(C) ADMINISTRATIVE
COSTS.—Not more 
than 15 percent of the total amount paid to an 
eligible grantee under this section may be used 
for administrative costs attributable to pro-
viding financial assistance, housing stability 
services, and other affordable rental housing 
and eviction prevention activities, including for 
data collection and reporting requirements re-
lated to such funds. 
(D) OTHER AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUS-
ING AND EVICTION PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.— 
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An eligible grantee may use any funds from 
payments made under this section that are un-
obligated on October 1, 2022, for purposes in 
addition to those specified in this paragraph, 
provided that— 
(i) such other purposes are affordable 
rental housing and eviction prevention pur-
poses, as defined by the Secretary, serving 
very low-income families (as such term is 
defined in section 3(b) of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437a(b))); and 
(ii) prior to obligating any funds for 
such purposes, the eligible grantee has ob-
ligated not less than 75 percent of the 
total funds allocated to such eligible grant-
ee in accordance with this section. 
(2) DISTRIBUTION OF ASSISTANCE.—Amounts 
appropriated under subsection (a)(1) of this section 
shall be subject to the same terms and conditions 
that apply under paragraph (4) of section 501(c) of 
subtitle A of title V of division N of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) to 
amounts appropriated under subsection (a)(1) of 
such section 501. 
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(e) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning March 31, 2022, 
the Secretary shall reallocate funds allocated to eligi-
ble grantees in accordance with subsection (b) but 
not yet paid in accordance with subsection (c)(2) ac-
cording to a procedure established by the Secretary. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR REALLOCATED FUNDS.— 
The Secretary shall require an eligible grantee to 
have obligated 50 percent of the total amount of 
funds allocated to such eligible grantee under sub-
section (b) to be eligible to receive funds reallocated 
under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 
(3) PAYMENT OF REALLOCATED FUNDS BY THE 
SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall pay to each eligi-
ble grantee eligible for a payment of reallocated 
funds described in paragraph (2) of this subsection 
the amount allocated to such eligible grantee in ac-
cordance with the procedure established by the Sec-
retary in accordance with paragraph (1) of this sub-
section. 
(4) USE
OF
REALLOCATED
FUNDS.—Eligible 
grantees may use any funds received in accordance 
with this subsection only for purposes specified in 
paragraph (1) of subsection (d). 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) ELIGIBLE
GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘eligible 
grantee’’ means any of the following: 
(A) The 50 States of the United States 
and the District of Columbia. 
(B) A unit of local government (as defined 
in paragraph (5)). 
(C) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, and American Samoa. 
(2) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘eligible 
household’’ means a household of 1 or more individ-
uals who are obligated to pay rent on a residential 
dwelling and with respect to which the eligible grant-
ee involved determines that— 
(A) 1 or more individuals within the house-
hold has— 
(i) qualified for unemployment bene-
fits; or 
(ii) experienced a reduction in house-
hold income, incurred significant costs, or 
experienced other financial hardship during 
or due, directly or indirectly, to the 
coronavirus pandemic; 
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