More rental aid is reaching tenants to stave off eviction

By MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press

The Treasury Department says there’s been good progress in the distribution of rental assistance to help avert evictions. More than 16.5% of the tens of billions of dollars in federal assistance reached tenants in August, compared with 11% a month earlier. The latest data from the department that oversees the program shows that the pace picked up in August and a number of states are seeing rising numbers after a slow start. There’s growing pressure to speed up the distribution of the money after the Supreme Court in August allowed evictions to resume. Lawmakers have approved $46.5 billion in spending on rental assistance.