The Eviction Diversion and Defense Partnership, a local rent assistance program that has provided nearly $26 million in aid to almost 3,000 renter households in Dane County, will be out of funds in 2025, according to the WMDX Radio.
The EDDP is a federally-funded initiative originally aimed at preventing evictions in the community due to COVID-19 job losses. The program works with local nonprofit organizations that handle eviction cases, like Legal Action of Wisconsin, the Tenant Resource Center, Community Justice, Inc., as well as the University of Wisconsin Law School, to provide renter households with financial aid, legal assistance, mediation services and other housing support, according to the EDDP website.
Funding for the program comes from federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds allocated to the City of Madison and Dane County as part of Congress’ pandemic relief efforts, according to Channel 3000.
With most of the ERA funds now depleted, the remaining money must be spent by Sept. 30 or returned to the federal government, according to the City of Madison.
Money was always time-limited, City of Madison Community Development Division Director Jim O’Keefe said.
“What’s happening with this funding has nothing to do with what the Trump administration did a week ago, where they threatened to freeze all federal government spending,” O’Keefe said. “This money that we got under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, we knew from the very beginning that it was one-time money and we knew that it would expire.”
Local officials have attempted to secure additional funding to extend the program. Dane County has committed approximately $1 million from its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds and the Tenant Resource Center recently received a $950,000 federal grant, according to the City of Madison.
Despite these efforts, the program’s capacity will be significantly reduced, according to O’Keefe.
“The rent assistance part of this is going to fall off pretty dramatically and probably mostly go away, but they’ll continue to provide other kinds of housing support,” O’Keefe said.
The program will continue to provide legal assistance, mediation and other forms of support, according to O’Keefe.
To be eligible for the program, residents must reside within Dane County, have a household income at or below 50% of the median income, have experienced financial hardship — directly or indirectly — due to COVID-19 and have an eviction-related court filing or be at risk of eviction, according to the EDDP website.
New requests for rent assistance must be submitted by March 31. Questions and concerns will continue to be handled by the Tenant Resource Center, according to the City of Madison.
