As NH rental assistance program stops accepting applications, utility aid also impacted

New Hampshire's emergency rental assistance program is no longer accepting new applications. State officials announced the move last week, citing a lack of additional federal funding for the program.

The impact on residents — particularly those who have had their rents raised while the program has been in place, or those who don’t have any housing and have been staying in hotels — could be significant, advocates say. But as energy costs become a greater burden for Granite Staters, the end of the program would also mean the loss of one source of utility assistance.

Angela Zhang, a program director at LISTEN Community Services, says that money made a difference for a lot of families, especially with their electric bills.

“So I think this is going to be quite the adjustment,” she said.

About 8.5% of the funds — $20 million — were used to help with utility bills. That help was available for a broader range of people, and uses, than traditional utility assistance.

This program’s funds could be used to pay down arrears, which the other electric and fuel assistance programs in New Hampshire don’t usually do, according to Ray Burke, a staff attorney for the Utilities Justice Project at New Hampshire Legal Assistance.

The income limit for the program — 80% of median area family income — was also higher than the limits for the traditional fuel and electric assistance programs, which are 60% of state median income, Burke said.

Donnalee Lozeau, the CEO of Southern New Hampshire Services, said the emergency rental assistance program was particularly helpful for residents who had significant utility arrearages. It allowed people to pay them down, and start saving toward future rent and utilities.

“A fair amount of people have used this opportunity to try to get themselves back with their feet solidly on the ground,” she said.

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Lozeau says the end of the program, while abrupt, was anticipated – the state knew when it got the current round of funds that they would end in December. State officials will continue processing applications for the emergency rental assistance program received as of October 20, 2022.

Community action agencies will continue to help connect residents with other aid programs, like fuel and electric assistance, or rapid re-housing money, she said.

State leaders recently opened up new programs for emergency energy assistance that serve Granite Staters making up to 75% of statewide median income.

Gov. Chris Sununu has asked the state’s congressional delegation to work with the U.S. Treasury to reconsider the decision to not make additional funding for the program available after December of 2022. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the delegation would try, but also cast blame on Sununu’s administration, saying their management of the funds caused the issues.

In a written statement, a U.S. Treasury spokesperson said the process to disperse emergency rental assistance funding was ongoing, and the Treasury is continuing to review requests for the funds, including from New Hampshire. The spokesperson also said possible future funds are expected to be smaller than amounts requested.

The Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery did not immediately respond to NHPR’s requests for comments.

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