TITLE
RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO INCLUDE FUNDING FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE IN A FUTURE STIMULUS PACKAGE TO ASSIST RENTERS EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AS A RESULT OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) AND ASSOCIATED ILLNESS, JOB LOSS, FURLOUGH, AND DECREASED WORK HOURS

BODY
WHEREAS, a new coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, causes an infectious disease named coronavirus disease 2019 (�COVID-19�) that has spread rapidly since its initial identification in Wuhan, Hubei province, China; and
WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization (�WHO�) declared the outbreak a �public health emergency of international concern�; and
WHEREAS, given the alarming levels of spread and the severity of the virus, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020; and
WHEREAS, as a result of COVID-19, on March 13, 2020, President Donald J. Trump declared a national emergency; and
WHEREAS, to combat the person-to-person spread of COVID-19, state and local governments throughout the country ordered non-essential businesses to close and also issued �safer at home� or �shelter in place� orders requiring residents to remain in their residences, subject to limited exceptions; and
WHEREAS, as a result of these orders and business closures, many retail businesses have shut down nearly overnight as has the hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants, cruise lines, and theme parks; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 has had devastating economic ripple effects that have impacted employees, from airline and automotive industry employees to hair stylists and domestic workers; and
WHEREAS, workers throughout the country have been laid off, furloughed, or left with severely reduced work hours; and
WHEREAS, more than 30 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits from mid-March through April 30, 2020; and
WHEREAS, recent data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that several cities in Florida, including the City of Hialeah and the City of Miami, are among those in the United States that have seen the biggest spikes in unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, many residents and families are struggling to make ends meet and are unable to pay for basic necessities such as food and rent; and
WHEREAS, in a 2019 study, Apartment List, a real estate listing agency, reported that nearly half of renter households in America were cost-burdened in 2018, meaning they spent 30 percent or more of their income on housing; and
WHEREAS, the study showed that nearly one in three cost burdened renters lived in California, New York, or Florida; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic is further exacerbating the existing affordable housing crisis in such states as households face new economic hardships and fall behind on their rent; and

WHEREAS, the National Rental Home Council (�NRHC�), a non-profit trade association of the single-family rental home industry, reports that there are 43 million renter households in the United States, comprised of 23 million single-family rental homes and 20 million apartment rentals; and
WHEREAS, the NRHC reports that more than 95 percent of single-family rental homes are owned by individual �mom and pop� landlords who own one to four single-family rental homes; and
WHEREAS, without the receipt of rental payments, it is projected that many of these owners will have immediate liquidity issues and there will be a wave of foreclosures and defaults; and
WHEREAS, House of Representatives bill (H.R.) 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (�CARES Act�), was approved by the United States Congress on March 27, 2020; and
WHEREAS, the CARES Act provides eligible Americans with a one-time stimulus check, or Economic Impact Payment; and
WHEREAS, the CARES Act also placed a 120-day moratorium on eviction proceedings and prohibits landlords from imposing fees, penalties, or other charges on tenants with respect to late payment of rent in buildings that receive certain government subsidies or are backed by federal loans; and
WHEREAS, similarly, many states, counties, and cities are taking steps to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on tenants, including placing moratoriums on evictions, prohibiting utilities from shutting off service due to nonpayment, and prohibiting rental late fees; and
WHEREAS, despite these temporary protections, rent, utility costs and possible late fees could continue to accrue during the relief period to be payable at the end of the moratoriums; and
WHEREAS, as the country continues to face this unprecedented public health and economic crisis, this Board believes that the federal government should further alleviate the financial hardships felt by renters who have experienced job loss, furlough, reduced work hours, or illness related to COVID-19 by including financial assistance in the next stimulus package,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the United States Congress to include funding for rental assistance in a future stimulus package to assist renters experiencing financial hardship as a result of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and associated illness, job loss, furlough, and decreased work hours.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the members of the Miami-Dade County Congressional Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the County�s federal lobbyist to advocate for the action set forth in section 1 above and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2020 Federal Legislative Package to include this item and to include this item in the 2021 Federal Legislative Package.