If you’re struggling to pay rent, you are not alone. Thousands of Americans across the country have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, making it tough to make ends meet and pay their rent.
There may be a solution: rental assistance
How does rental assistance work?
There are rental assistance programs across the U.S. which may be able to help, getting you up to $10,000 in rental help if you qualify, like this one for the city of Newark:
Newark Emergency Rental Assistance deadline is extended to January 7th. Apply at https://t.co/h7Nc3mvDWz pic.twitter.com/oQVDIbTKuf
— City of Newark (@CityofNewarkNJ) November 18, 2021
Or, this one for California:
As a gentle reminder this Friday evening, the California state Emergency Rental Assistance Program has received over half a million applications requesting roughly $5.6 billion in assistance. Less than a quarter of requested funds paid out. 527,000 households have applied.
— Vacancy Control 4 All (@rcmoya84) November 20, 2021
The requirements of the rental assistance program will vary based on the program but most require:
Financial hardship
Income requirements
State residency
Rather than scouring the internet to find assistance programs in your area, you can visit the Treasury Department’s website to find rental assistance where you live.
From the Treasury Department:
Treasury has collected websites associated with our grantees’ Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) programs to help tenants and landlords find rental assistance programs in their local areas.
You’ll be able to browse by state, territory, tribes, and tribally designated housing entity to locate programs available in your area.
For example, in Texas there’s the Texas Rent Relief program administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs which may be able to offer assistance.
In Massachusetts there’s the Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program (ERMA) providing rental and mortgage help for eligible households.
From Mass.gov:
ERMA can provide rental and mortgage assistance to low-income households who have been impacted by the crisis and may not be eligible for RAFT. This program is available for households within the 50-80% range of Area Median Income (AMI)
Like RAFT, ERMA may provide up to $10,000 for eligible households to assist with rent or mortgage arrears accrued after April 1, 2020 and/or with upcoming rent or mortgage payments.
In Maryland, the State of Maryland administers the Maryland Rent Relief Program.
And Kansas has the Kansas Housing Corp Emergency Rental Assistance program by the Kansas Housing Resources Corp for the State of Kansas.
What does rental assistance mean for struggling households?
Families across the country are struggling and there’s an outlet which may be able to help.
If you or someone you know may benefit from rental programs like this, visit the Treasury Department website to get started in finding rental help programs that can provide assistance.
What do you think about rental assistance programs in the U.S.?
Do they help?