Rental assistance is soon to arrive in many tenants and landlords alike in the upcoming days. Hopefully, the said assistance can greatly help the many in need. The said federal money is expected to arrive in many bank accounts of both tenants and landlords alike to help them in their problems.
Rental Assistance Coming to Many Bank Accounts of Both Tenants and Landlords Alike Soon Enough
According to Sun-Sentinel, there are already some counties that are in the final phase of releasing and distributing the financial assistance that many are in need of. Those said counties are Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward respectively.
They are now planning on how to properly distribute those funds in a timely manner, especially for those who are under the threat of eviction from their homes. In order for the people living in those counties, they must submit an application and wait for their local government to distribute the payments for their dues.
Meanwhile in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis' spokesperson has recently announced that they will be distributing the financial assistance amount to $871 million through a specific department named Department of Children and Families that will help 32,250 households in Florida. This is a different step from last year's distribution method of the 119 local government bodies handling the distribution of the said funds, which amount only to $135 million.
As for the new and upcoming financial assistance, it came from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) that was approved by Congress and the President of 2019. The total amount allocated for the program was $25 billion and it is part of a $900 billion relief package meant for use for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
When combined, the said counties from Florida will have a combined total fund of $165 million for the overall rental assistance for both tenants and landlords alike to help with their dues and balances. Aside from that combined total, the cities of Miami and Hialeah will also distribute $21 million worth of funds for assisting the public.
As of this day, many eviction moratoriums are still in place in many locations that are in effect with the authorities, ranging from federal, state, and up to local. The said moratorium was put into effect in March, during the start of nationwide lockdowns to prevent the further spreading of the said pandemic.
Additional Details for The New Financial Assistance Program
Before one can avail of the new financial assistance from the ERAP, there are some steps that they need to follow first. According to Yahoo! News, there is a requirement for each applicant that their total household income must be below 80% of their location's median household income. Priority will be given for those households with incomes below 50% of that said median and for individuals that were unemployed for 90 days prior to applying.
Aside from that first requirement, applicants should also be able to prove that one or more of their household members have either experienced the following:
- Currently unemployed
- Reduction in income
- Experienced financial hardships due to the pandemic
- Incurred significant costs due to the pandemic
- In high risk of being homeless or being evicted
- In huge housing instability
