Those unemployed for at least 90 days or below 50% of median household income can be fast-tracked for help
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah tenants short on rent in the pandemic can now apply online to tap into a new infusion of $215 million in federal rent relief money.
There’s no change in who’s eligible from the last round of rent help, but Utahns down on their luck can now go to a single state portal that opened Monday, rentrelief.utah.gov.
The money covers not just rent that’s coming due, but also past missed payments and utility bills, including internet.
The new website streamlines the application process, so landlords will be able to get paid faster, said Nate McDonald, deputy director at the Department of Workforce Services.
“They’ve been carrying a heavy load with past-due rents,” McDonald said.
Previously, renters applied for rental assistance through local nonprofits like Utah Community Action, which are still helping with the new process.
Utah began doling out a first round of federal rental assistance in May 2020, parceling out about $25 million last year and dipping into different pots of relief money to help tenants in January and February.
McDonald and other state officials joined Salt Lake County and city leaders Monday to urge Utahns who think they might qualify to visit the site and gather documents they’ll need, like a lease, pay stubs or tax forms, and a ledger from their landlord documenting missed payments.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson noted restaurants in particular are still operating at limited capacity, so bartenders and servers are working fewer hours. And for many Utahns who struck out on their own to start a business before the pandemic, she noted, stretching to cover the bills has also been a challenge.
“This is a great program to help out,” Wilson said.
Prior to the pandemic, half of renters in Utah’s capital city were housing compromised, meaning they put more than 30% of their income into rent, said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. Residents were paying a median rent of $985 over a five-year period ending in 2019, according to census survey data released last year, the most recent available.
Mendenhall said the pandemic has likely exacerbated the problem in Salt Lake City, where she noted many work in arts, culture and tourism, all hit hard by the pandemic.
The state program is prioritizing those who need the most help, like workers who have been unemployed for at least 90 days or are below 50% of their county’s median household income.
But it’s also available to Utahns who have lost income or incurred significant pandemic-related expenses like hospital bills, as well as those at or below 80% of area median income, equivalent to about $60,000 in Salt Lake County.
The money covers fees, security deposits, utilities and internet service.
While there’s a federal eviction moratorium allowing those affected by the pandemic to stay in their homes, rent payments will eventually come due. To qualify for the temporary protection, tenants must assert that they’re covered by the moratorium and can do so by filling out a form and giving it to their landlords.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2OrWSAr
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