Barbara Bailey is a landlord who rents a house in Birmingham to a man whose wife collapsed and died in April of 2020, likely to COVID. Since then, Bailey’s tenant has been unable to pay thousands of dollars in rent. She’s made up the difference herself, refinancing the mortgage and paying plumbing expenses and home insurance.

“Of course, I was going to help him,” she said. “I was trying to renegotiate the mortgage to try to get it down into an area that he could pay it. I was not going to evict him.”

To help landlords, such as Bailey, and tenants who are facing hardship during the pandemic the federal government sent billions of dollars to states, counties, and cities. Some Alabama cities and counties have successfully handed out these dollars to landlords and tenants, but Alabama’s statewide program has been mired in delays.

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