SALT LAKE CITY — At the beginning of July, tens of thousands of Utah renters feared eviction while well over a hundred million dollars in federal aid was available to them.
The Census Bureau has followed the numbers in their pandemic-tracking household pulse surveys. In these numbers, households could be singles, couples, families, extended families or roommates, meaning each number represents a multiple in terms of residents.
In the latest, taken from June 23rd to July 5th, they used the survey to estimate 44,574 Utah households had past due rent.
More than 11 thousand of the households behind on their rent include children.
Even some Utahns current on their rent are worried about the ability to pay next month. Over 78 thousand report have “no confidence” or “slight confidence” they can pay.
A lot of the Utahns worried about next month’s rent are parents or guardians.
Despite such apparent need, millions in available rental assistants sits unpaid.
Utah has a lot of money available for people who can’t pay the rent. The U.S. Treasury Department released data through June on money allocated and spent by states and local governments. In Utah, 7,029 households had received the federal rental aid as of June 30th.
The State of Utah has spent 8% of an allotted $150.4 million, which is actually more than a majority of states, but still means the state has more tens of millions of dollars to help people who qualify here.
