County, city to team on rent aid
Federal funds from stimulus bring total to $159M in relief
Houston and Harris County are teaming up to launch a $159 million relief program for area tenants struggling to make rent, the largest local investment in housing aid to date, made possible by the stimulus package Congress approved late last year.
Some details of the program were not yet finalized, although the county on Tuesday approved contracts with nonprofits BakerRipley and Catholic Charities. The city plans to do the same Wednesday.
The governments and the nonprofits hope to launch a portal to begin accepting applications from landlords next week, according to Catholic Charities, but it was not clear when that portal will be available.
The federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program approved last year sent $73.8 million to Harris County and $70.1 million to Houston for rent relief efforts, according to the county. The city is devoting an additional $7.9 million in other funds and the county $6.9 million for a total of $158.7 million.
The state launched its own $1 billion fund with federal relief dollars Tuesday. Applications
for that pot of money open Monday, and more information is available at texasrentrelief.com.
When applications for the state fund open Monday, residents can submit documents through the website or by calling 1833-9TX-RENT.
City Housing Department officials declined comment on the local effort Tuesday, deferring questions to Catholic Charities. Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday the city is working as quickly as possible to launch the program. He said the funds, which came from the Treasury Department, carry some additional logistical requirements, but he did not specify them.
“I’ll announce on Wednesday steps we’re going to take to minimize the impact on people while both the city and county work through these bureaucratic hurdles,” Turner said.
Houston City Councilmember Tiffany Thomas, who chairs the council’s housing committee and has helped craft the program, said the city plans to use about $19 million to give money to some 12,000 households that applied for relief last year but did not receive funds.
The federal funds will allow Houston and Harris County to more than double their investment in rent relief from last year. The city and county both directed $30 million toward separate relief efforts with funds from the CARES Act, part of an earlier stimulus package.
This time, however, they plan to collaborate on one program, offering common eligibility requirements, a single tenant application portal and landlord agreements.
Zoe Middleton, Southeast Texas Co-Director for the housing nonprofit Texas Housers, said that collaboration is encouraging.
“I think it reduces confusion for tenants and for landlords in need. It’s been really hard historically to get the city and county to match up programs, and it causes a lot of confusion for people,” Middleton said. “It’s the biggest pot that we’ve had to play with. That’s why I think it’s important to get it right.”
There were 156 eviction hearings in Houston and Harris County on Tuesday, by Middleton’s count, and more than 22,000 hearings since March 13. Not all of those hearings result in evictions, but Middleton said they have harmful effects on residents’ finances even if they are not ultimately kicked out.
She cited a report from New America, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan think tank, that found evictions account for 79 percent of all housing loss in Harris County, even though renters account for roughly half of residents here.
Houston and Harris County also are hiring “navigators,” or case managers, from several community nonprofits, including the YMCA, Houston Area Urban League, Memorial Assistance Ministries and others, to help guide residents through the process and connect them to other services if needed, according to Thomas.
“The intention behind them is to really foster those families through that whole process,” Thomas said. “The case managers are going to be really key to getting down in the nuts and bolts of walking them through that process.”
To qualify, applicants must make less than 80 percent of the area median income, roughly $63,000 for a family of four in Houston. They must have suffered a financial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic and be able to demonstrate housing instability, according to Treasury Department guidelines.
The program will not dole out funds on a firstcome, first-served basis. Applicants will be weighted by need, with priority to those making less than 50 percent of the area median income — $39,400 for a Houston family of four — and who have been unemployed for 90 days.
The application portal will open to landlords first, who must agree not to pursue evictions or late fees against residents, said Joy Partain, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities and BakerRipley. About a week later, tenants will be able to apply. The organization hopes to open the tenant portal by the end of February.
Recipients would be able to use the money toward up to three months of past due, current or future rent, utility and home energy expenses.
There also will be a direct assistance program for renters whose landlords do not apply to the program, Thomas said. It is unclear if the agencies plan to set aside a certain amount of money for those people.
BakerRipley, which administered past rent relief efforts for the city, will handle technology and landlord enrollment, according to county documents. Catholic Charities, which has worked with the county, will operate a contact center and communications.