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People Are Sleeping on Beaches and Landlords are Deferring Mortgages as Rental Assistance Program Limps Along, Francis Says

Senator Novelle Francis on Wednesday had some pointed words for officials of the V.I. Housing Finance Authority, which is responsible for administering the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). The veteran lawmaker blasted V.I.H.F.A. for its failure to move the program expeditiously while Virgin Islands tenants and landlords alike face great suffering. “It is a travesty because 75 percent or the lion's share of those individuals still have not received their money," he said. "Hearing that 600 have already qualified and only 159 have received checks, it is critical that we take night and make day and make sure that we try to ramp up the payments to those landlords." Mr. Francis told the committee he has learned that there are people sleeping on beaches and in abandoned houses, and that landlords have been deferring payments on mortgages.  The territory received $39 million for the program, however as of November 2021 only $789,702 in assistance had been issued. On average, a cli...