Must be cooperation

I couldn’t understand why there is so much rental assistance not being claimed until I learned the process. We own a few rental properties and are members of the Arkansas Landlord Association. Our tenants are all current on their rent and have been all through the pandemic. I got an email from the Landlord Association about getting rental assistance. The process is that the landlord must fill out the forms and name the tenant that is behind, along with their email address and phone number. This goes into the system and the tenant receives an email to fill out their paperwork. At this point, it is up to the tenant to follow through. The money does not go to the tenant, it goes to the landlord.

Problem one is that the landlord must have the tenant’s email address. That is not something we have or have a need to know. Problem two is that the tenants are probably not happy that they will not get the money. With the ban on evictions, it probably doesn’t matter to them if the landlord is paid or not.

Let me say that I know there are very good, conscientious tenants out there. I’m not saying all tenants are bad. When one of our tenants tells us why they are going to be late and lays out a plan to catch up, we are happy to work with them. I’m getting off-base, but I think the procedure for getting the money is relying on the tenant to want their landlord to get the money. Right or wrong, that is how it works and they have to cooperate.

KAREN HERBERT

Little Rock