Housing

Four St. Louis nonprofits will develop nearly 200 affordable apartments and homes across St. Louis over the next few years, thanks in part to a grant from the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

St. Louis County Council passed a bill to pause evictions during the holidays. The council also approved $5 million of federal funds to provide about 30 days of emergency rental assistance.

Alderwoman Megan Green, who represents the 15th Ward, says her neighborhood is losing affordable housing units and people are getting priced out. She hopes imposing a conversion fee on developers who flip multi-unit buildings into single-family homes will help.

An Affordable Housing Trust Fund Coalition report found that St. Louis and St. Louis County failed to provide Black renters, households and low-income families with affordable housing.

As of the end of September, the state had awarded only 18% of the $323.7 million it received as part of the COVID-relief package Congress approved in December.

St. Louis County officials have distributed more than $18 million in emergency rental assistance funds, exceeding the amount the federal program requires the county to spend by September. Another round of funding is coming soon.

U.S. Rep. Cori Bush has introduced a bill that would give federal health officials the authority to implement federal eviction bans during a public health crisis.

St. Louis County officials have until the end of the month to distribute about $8 million more in federal rental aid. If the county does not do so, the money will be returned to the federal government.

Some renters in the St. Louis region could be put out of their homes soon now that the U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a federal ban on evictions. Housing advocates expect a wave of evictions if state and local officials do not process renters' aid applications soon.

St. Louis and St. Louis County judges on Friday rescinded eviction moratoriums aimed at keeping people in their homes. Attorneys for people who face evictions in the region say moratoriums kept families from being displaced during a public health crisis.