Thousands of households are behind on rent in the Washington region

Job loss during the pandemic, combined with high housing costs, has resulted in thousands of people in the Washington region struggling to pay rent.

About 113,000 households in the Washington metropolitan area were behind on rent at the end of August, according to an analysis of census data by the National Equity Atlas. That’s about 14% of renter households.

83% of households behind on rent are people of color, according to the report. Nearly half are unemployed. And more than 100,000 children live in households behind on rent.

In the District of Columbia, a full 96% of renters in arrears are people of color.

According to the National Equity Atlas, most households behind on rent nationally are low-income households that lost income during the pandemic.

In our region, of those renters who are behind, 24% are waiting to receive pandemic emergency assistance funds, according to the report; 10% were denied, and the vast majority, more than 60%, did not apply at all.

Emergency rental assistance programs throughout the region have had varying levels of success, and some including DC have ramped up their distribution efforts in the last few weeks.

The clock is ticking for jurisdictions to distribute funds before the deadline of September 30, when the federal government will withdraw funding from jurisdictions who haven’t used enough of it and redistribute it to the ones that have.

Meanwhile, enhanced unemployment benefits expired Labor Day, and eviction protections across the region are in various stages of being phased out, creating uncertainty for many.