OMAHA, NE (June 30, 2022) – Creighton University’s Pierce Greenberg, an assistant professor of sociology in the Department of Cultural and Social Studies, published a report assessing the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) in Omaha. Key findings from the report:

Emergency rental assistance in Omaha effectively prevented more than 7,400 evictions from April 2021 to April 2022.

The average rent of a person seeking assistance was $1,035 – well above estimated affordability levels for households that were eligible for rental assistance – indicating an eviction wave may still be a threat when ERAP funds are exhausted.

Maps and statistical analysis of emergency rental assistance disbursement show that South Omaha is underserved by the emergency rental assistance program based on its demographics.

“The Emergency Rental Assistance Program has mostly been effective at delaying the eviction wave that many advocates feared,” Greenberg said. “But these numbers also show just how many households were in need over the last year and how the cost of rent is burdening the most vulnerable residents in our community.”

Background

ERAP funds were included in the federal government’s spending plan in 2021 and received bipartisan support. The program allows eligible households to apply for rental assistance if they meet eligibility standards and demonstrate economic and housing-related hardships due to COVID-19. 99.1% of funds were provided directly to landlords.

The property types receiving assistance were 53.92% multi-unit developments (i.e., apartment complexes), 40.25% single family homes, and 5.82% multiple residential standalone properties (i.e., duplexes and triplexes).

The average amount of rental assistance per approved application was $4,311—which

covered an average of 135 days (or about four months). Landlords and tenants could apply for a maximum of 12 months of past rent and three months of current and/or future rent.

The average monthly rent of a person seeking rental assistance was $1,035. According to the city’s data, 56% of ERAP recipients were making less than 30% of the area’s median income and 83% were making less than half of the area’s median income. This underscores how the cost of rent significantly burdens low-income households in our city.

The report was funded by the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s “End Rental Arrears to Stop Evictions” (ERASE) program. The complete report can be found here.

Creighton University, founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1878, is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. The Omaha campus has more than 8,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students among nine schools and colleges. No other university its size offers students such a comprehensive academic environment with personal attention from faculty-mentors. The new health sciences campus in Phoenix, which will accommodate more than 900 students, is the largest expansion outside of Omaha in Creighton’s history and positions the University as one of the largest Catholic health professions educators in the country. Creighton is ranked in the top third of National Universities by U.S. News & World Report.