Orlando plans to reopen pandemic rental assistance portal Feb. 1
Orlando’s rental assistance portal is expected to reopen on Feb. 1 for households financially impacted by the pandemic.
The city announced the opening date in a news release, which also revealed Orange County would stop accepting city applicants. Soon after Orlando’s portal closed temporarily, the county began accepting city residents as a stop-gap.
Orlando paid out the entirety of one federal pool of funds in November to more than 1,600 households and needed to put the contract out for bid before a new federal pot could be used. Earlier this month, the city council signed off on again using KPMG to run the program.
This latest $6.8 million pot is Orlando’s share of $21.55 billion in rental assistance allocated in the American Rescue Plan, signed by President Joe Biden last year. Funds were divvied up to state and local governments to help qualifying residents.
To receive federal aid, a household needs at least one person who qualifies for unemployment or has lost income or faced other financial hardship during the pandemic. The U.S. Treasury also requires one more people to be at risk of homelessness or housing instability, have a household income at or below 80% of the area median income — in Orlando, that’s $61,050 for a family of four — and prioritizes households at or below 50% of the area median income, which is $38,150.
Proof of residency is also required.
The program pays pastdue rent, and also up to three months advance rental payments. However, total assistance is capped at 18 months, including under past pandemic rental assistance programs. Utility payments aren’t included unless they’re billed in the lease.
Payments are made directly to a landlord and the rental rate can’t be more than $4,000 per month.