2 in-person sessions planned for Emergency Rental Assistance applications

Delaware County will have in-person intake sessions April 17 and April 24 for those wanting to apply for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

The county has been taking applications through the website delco-era.com and hundreds have applied but space is still available.

The U.S. Treasury and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania allotted $37.2 million for the Delco Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which is a grant program to help those who experienced a loss or disruption of income because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program will cover up to 12 months’ past due rent and three months’ future rent, as well as the largest outstanding utility bill for those meeting income requirements.

On April 17 and 24, staff will be in place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Eddystone Office in the Baldwin Towers, 1510 Chester Pike, Suite 102 in Eddystone and at the Upper Darby Office, 20 S. 69th St. in Upper Darby. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 484-7294200. Information is available at info@delco-era.com.

To be eligible, residents must make 80 percent or less of the area median income for household size. As an example, for a family of four, that’s no more than $77,300. For a two-person household, that annual salary threshold is $61,850.

The grant funds are paid directly to the landlord and utility company.

Applicants must be able to prove they were impacted financially by COVID-19 through demonstrating they qualified for unemployment benefits during the pandemic or attest in writing that they or a member of their household experienced a reduction of income, incurred significant costs or experienced financial hardship.

Another example would be an applicant’s ability to show a risk of housing instability or homelessness through a past due utility or rent notice or an eviction notice.

Last month, Delaware County Council hired Philadelphia-based Capital Access Inc. to administer the program.

At that time, county officials indicated there were 800 to 1,000 ejectment proceedings in the Common Pleas and magisterial courts and anticipated that this program could help approximately 5,000 county renters overall.