Protecting Rural Renters Act of 2022

Protecting Rural Renters Act of 2022

This bill prevents the reallocation of unspent funding that states and territories received through the Emergency Rental Assistance program.

This program provides funding to assist low-income households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with covering unmet rent and utility expenses. Cities and counties with populations over 200,000 may elect to receive funding directly, while states and territories receive the funding to administer assistance in all other areas. Under current law, if a jurisdiction fails to spend a minimum portion of its funds by a statutory deadline, the Department of the Treasury must reallocate those funds among jurisdictions that spent more than a specified portion of their initial allocation.

The bill prohibits Treasury from reallocating unspent funds received by states and territories and requires Treasury to return to a state or territory any funds previously reallocated.