The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
CT has $235M in rent relief, few are applying
In the first three weeks of a massive aid program for renters, applications appear to be falling well short of early projections by Connecticut’s lead housing official.
Connecticut set aside $235 million under the UniteCT program to help with rental and electricity bill assistance for as long as 15 months, funding the program from federal relief money authorized by Congress in December 2020. Assistance for any household is capped at $10,000 for rent and $1,500 for electricity.
As of April 7, the Connecticut Department of Housing had received only 2,200 fully completed applications for UniteCT rent relief, according to Yardi, the California company that designed the software to process applications and deposit funds in accounts.
Days after the program was started, the Department of Housing received 4,000 initial applications, not all of which were completed to trigger review and potential award of funds.
“We are anticipating to assist between 25,000 and 30,000 households,” said Seila Mosquera-Bruno, commissioner of the Department of Housing, speaking March 28 on NBC Connecticut. “From our previous experience, they
come from everywhere — everybody has been affected.”
But with only a small percentage of applications in from those eligible to apply, questions remain as to whether or not any extraordinary hurdles are in place that would delay the completion of forms.
By contrast, the Connecticut Department of Labor was overwhelmed with 220,000 initial claims for unemployment last year — just three weeks into the pandemic.
Some would-be applicants have struggled to produce all required paperwork to qualify for the program, according to Joe D’Ascoli, president of the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials and head of the Manchester Housing Authority.
“These individuals have to provide A, B and C — and if they don’t have all the documentation, that application won’t be processed until all the completed information is there,” D’Ascoli said. “I was astonished, too, when I heard there was only 2,200 [completed] applications — this is $235 million in the coffers.”
With Gov. Ned Lamont’s moratorium on evictions scheduled to end April 19, the need for rent relief enters the spotlight for many Connecticut households. Landlords can begin serving notice three days later — April 22 — in instances where six months rent is due that was left in arrears during the pandemic, or for any unpaid amounts prior to March 2020.
UniteCT applications opened in mid-March. Funds are reserved for households making no more than 80 percent of the median income for their town and who are able to demonstrate they are under financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Connecticut Department of Housing is prioritizing funds for those who have lost jobs and who have household incomes at half the median of their town.
Mosquera-Bruno told NBC Connecticut the department would be able to provide a breakdown of where those applicants were located. A Department of Housing spokesperson did not respond Monday to a Hearst Connecticut query seeking those figures.
UniteCT is open to both renters and landlords who are absorbing top-line hits, as renters miss their monthly payments. The state will pay 85 percent of amounts due to landlords, who have the option of rejecting participation in the program.
The state is paying landlords and utilities directly, as a lump-sum covering three months of rent. To get the next installment, applicants must re-certify that rent or electric bills remain in arrears.
The program is barred to those already receiving federal or state housing assistance, and renters who are on sub-lease arrangements. UniteCT details and applications are online at Portal.ct.gov/doh or by calling 1-844-864-8328.
Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Connecticut has already provided $26.5 million in aid to more than 6,700 households under a Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program, working out to nearly $4,000 each.
Another 2,500 families who filed incomplete applications under TRHAP were notified that they may qualify for UniteCT funds.
As the case with TRHAP, the UniteCT assistance program allows applications to be paused while participants gather extra paperwork.
John Souza, a landlord and the president of the CT Coalition of Property Owners, said UniteCT’s numbers will likely grow in coming weeks, as landlords help tenants track down every piece of paperwork for those agreeing to participate.
Souza said the Department of Housing had indicated plans to place an application counter on its website, which was not immediately apparent as of Monday afternoon.
“You can literally put your name and your email address in and start the application,” Souza said. “I think a lot of people may have put it in just to get their place in line, or they got somebody helping them who put it in for them. And now the tenants or the landlord have to do everything.”