How to find new federal resources for renters and landlords
If you’re a renter having trouble paying your rent, utilities, or other housing costs – or if you’re a landlord trying to stay afloat with tenants in this situation – help may be available. State and local programs are distributing billions of dollars in rental assistance to help renters stay housed during the pandemic.
Try a new tool — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Rental Assistance Finder — to find out what this means for you and what you can do.
The CFPB’s site also includes resources to help renters and landlords understand other resources to help navigate various financial hardships related to the pandemic.
The tool was released just days before the temporary halt on evictions expired on July 31.
The federal government wants to make sure tenants and landlords take advantage of the historic funding for emergency rental assistance to help cover rent, utilities, and other housing costs and keep people in their homes.
“Far too many rural tenants and property owners still don’t know that states and localities have Emergency Rental Assistance programs available,” said Eileen Neely, Loan Fund Director at the Housing Assistance Council. .
Neely said HAC encourages rural housing advocates to spread the word about the CFPB’s new look-up tool, and to help their constituents (especially those without internet access) to use the tool and to apply for aid.
“Rural renters shouldn’t lose their homes because of an information gap,” she said.
Rachel Perić, executive director of Welcoming America, said many renters, especially those in rural communities, will need targeted support to get back on their feet, with rising housing costs and the continued impacts of the pandemic.
“For communities for whom language, segregation, race and status may pose added barriers, it’s important that communities work with intention to not only tap into these resources, but consider the importance of inclusion and equity so that everyone in their community can stay safe, housed, and healthy.”
