State program provides rental, electric utility aid
As the COVID-19 state moratorium on rental evictions is about to expire, the state Department of Housing and several partner agencies across the state are rolling out a new $235 million federally funded rental and electric bill assistance program for low-income residents hurt by the pandemic.
The UniteCT Emergency Rental Assistance for Connecticut’s Economy will provide qualifying households with up to $10,000 in rental assistance for both overdue payments and upcoming rent due and up to $1,500 per qualifying household for past due electric bills. The funding is through the second CARES Act approved by Congress this past fall.
The federal moratorium on rental evictions ends at the end of March, and the Connecticut moratorium will
expire April 19, state Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said Wednesday.
“That’s why we wanted to rush to get this program started,” she said.
UniteCT’s website, bit.ly/ UniteCT, contains detailed information about the program and qualifying income levels and includes what Director Dawn Parker called an easy access application system for both landlords and tenants. The forms can be filled out on a smartphone, and the app allows the required photos of financial information, rent or utility bills to be uploaded automatically once the photo is taken. Applicants having trouble can call the toll-free number, (844) 864-8328 for technical assistance.
The application system allows landlords to fill out one part of the application, and the tenant to enter information separately and confidentially. Tenants can start an application, save the information and go back later to complete the forms, Parker said.
UniteCT has partnered with housing assistance and human services throughout the state to help spread the word about the program to qualifying residents and to help anyone who does not have access to a smartphone or a computer with internet. The United Way of Southeastern Connecticut is the partner agency for this region.
The program is available to renters who have suffered unemployment, reduction of income or “significant costs or experienced a financial hardship” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants must demonstrate a risk of homelessness or “housing instability” due to the pandemic.
Qualifying households must be at or below 80% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Area Median Income level. In the Norwich-New London area, a single person’s income cannot exceed $54,950 to qualify, a two-person household, $62,800, and a four-person household can earn up to $78,500 to qualify.
The UniteCT program will pay 85% of the past-due rent for the six months prior to the application, with the landlord agreeing to write off the remaining 15%. UniteCT also will pay a portion of three months of rent going forward on a sliding income scale, and the applicant would need to recertify to possibly receive another three months of rental assistance, for a total of up to 12 months and a cap of $10,000 total.
Funds must be committed to applicants by September and disbursed by December.
Parker said since the program launched March 15, about 15,000 people have “touched” the system, and both landlord and tenant have submitted their required portions on 1,500 applications.
“We prepared a lot,” Parker said of the application set-up. She hopes Connecticut can be a leader in getting rental and utility assistance to residents quickly.
Commissioner Mosquera-Bruno hopes the state will receive more funding through the new $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan approved by Congress in early March.
Erin Kemple, executive director of the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, said her organization hopes the state will consider covering back-due property taxes, water and sewer bills and condominium and cooperative housing fees.
Kemple said some people are having trouble accessing the system and hopes the state can add a telephone application system. She said the “digital divide” could leave out many low-income residents, who might not have internet access.
In Norwich, the city’s Human Services Department and Norwich Public Utilities are circulating fliers and information about the assistance program. Norwich Human Services Director Lee Ann Gomes said many Norwich renters will qualify.
NPU has been working with more than 1,000 customers with back-due bills to set up special payment plans. NPU officials have said many of those with payment plans could not keep up with those plans.
“NPU recognizes that there are a lot of individuals and families who are struggling to pay their rent and utilities each month because of the pandemic,” NPU spokesman Chris Riley said. “NPU is very excited about the UniteCT program, which has the potential to help so many people across the state in the months ahead. We encourage any renter who is behind on their rent or utility bills to learn more about this program and see if they qualify for this assistance.”
Mark Kulos, president of the Norwich Property Owners’ Association, a group of local landlords, welcomed the new program, which has much more funding than the previous rental assistance program. Kulos has 27 housing units in the Norwich area, and he said the association has 40 to 50 members who operate about 500 housing units.
Most of the tenants in association members’ units work at the region’s two casinos and were thrown out of work suddenly last spring. As the casinos reopened with limited services and are now expanding operations, many tenants are in better shape to pay rent, he said.
He called the first rental assistance program “quite wonderful,” especially as the state kept extending the moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent.
“Between the feds and the state, the moratorium is just killing us,” Kulos said. “Most landlords are small business owners.”
Gomes agreed that it’s important to the city to support the local landlords.
“It’s a cycle,” she said. “If we’re not supporting our landlords and utility, it’s less money for the city, and that means less taxes for basketball courts, schools, recreation and services.”