March 1, 2022

Pima County to receive new allocation of emergency rental funds

The money comes from the state's allocation, which has gone largely untouched.

360 new housing tucson A housing subdivision under construction in Tucson off Silverbell Road. December 2020.
Robert Lindberg/AZPM Staff

Another $22 million in federal emergency rental relief funds are on the way to Pima County and the City of Tucson.

A few of the state’s most populous counties run their own emergency rental programs, and the state organizes the rest.

Pima County was recognized as a national leader in getting the funds to renters at risk of losing their homes.

Dan Sullivan is the director of Pima County’s community and workforce development department, and he said the program just helped its 10,000th household since the pandemic began.

"Our community assistance division has been doing rent and utility systems for 30 years. So we already had an infrastructure in place," Sullivan said.

He also said the combined city and county program spends about $1 million per week.

"We're running pretty low. The state also got an allocation, for the entire state, and it hasn't been spent," Sullivan said.

This is not the first round of reallocations from the state, and Sullivan says his department is waiting to hear back about requests for a combined $19 million.

If Arizona doesn’t use its funds, they could go back to the federal government and be sent to other states.

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