NC has COVID money for tenants behind on the rent. Here’s what you need to know.
North Carolina has entered a new phase of its rent and utility assistance program for those who have struggled financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) program started accepting applications again in mid-May after it ran out of money in November.
During that first phase tens of thousands of people applied, and $133 million went to 36,000 households.
So far in this phase, $1.1 million has gone to 924 applicants, Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference Wednesday.
But many more renters need assistance.
Over 200,000 households in North Carolina are behind on rent, with an average household debt of $2,600, according to analysis of April’s U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey from National Equity Atlas, which studies the social equity of states and regions.
And a moratorium that has protected tenants from eviction since September is set to expire at the end of June.
“We need to make sure as many people as possible get into the program and get that check,” said Laura Hogshead, chief operating officer of the N.C. Office or Recovery and Resiliency. “We know that more people need help.”
Here is what you need to know.
Is the HOPE program for me?
The HOPE program, operated by NCORR, first began in October 2020 with federal funding from last year’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES.
It covered rent and utilities for households financially affected by the pandemic, but demand was high. The money ran out the next month and applications closed.
As part of two other COVID-19 stimulus bills that Congress passed in December and March, North Carolina received over $800 million in rental aid.
This phase of the HOPE program covers 88 of the state’s 100 counties. The other 12 counties met a population threshold, so the federal government sent them aid directly to set up their own programs.
Those 12 counties are Wake, Durham, Johnston, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Mecklenburg, New Hanover and Union.
Since aid has been approved by Congress, Wake and Durham have set up rental aid programs.
Five tribal governments received rent aid directly as well. Those tribes are Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Coharie Tribe, Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and Waccamaw-Siouan Tribe.
Am I eligible?
To get assistance, you must currently rent in one of the 88 counties the HOPE program covers.
You also must have missed at least one rent or utility payment or have faced homelessness or eviction since April 1, 2020.
The HOPE program defines facing homelessness or eviction as having been behind on rent or utilities at some point since April 1, 2020, even if you’re not currently behind on payments.
If you faced this kind of financial hardship since then, it’s had to have been due to the pandemic. To verify that, the HOPE program requires that you have lost income, qualified for unemployment benefits or have experienced any other financial loss due to the pandemic.
On top of that, your household has to be at 50% or below the area median income as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
You can check the AMI where you live on HUD’s website at huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html#2021_query.
If you applied for rental assistance during the first phase of the HOPE program, you are still eligible for this phase.
How do I apply?
To apply online, you can go to hope.nc.gov. Applications can be submitted on any device.
You can also call (888) 9ASK-HOPE.
If you don’t live in one of the 88 counties that the HOPE program covers, this call center will direct you to a local agency that can direct you where to get rental assistance.
When you apply you’ll need the following:
- Total income amount from all members of your household
- Your lease or some other documented rental agreement between you and your landlord
- Your landlord’s name, email address and any other contact information
- Your most recent utility bill if you are seeking utility assistance
- Your HOPE applicant ID number if you received assistance in the first phase
If you don’t have a lease, you’ll need your landlord to fill out out a lease summary form which can be found at rebuild.nc.gov/media/1570/open.
Alternatively, your landlord can provide a written statement with your name on it that explains how much your rent is, your address where you rent, how many months late you are on rent, and when the lease ends.
You can also submit a check or bank statement that shows a deposit to your landlord for the rent amount.
What do landlords need to know?
If you’re a landlord with a tenant behind on rent, you can’t apply for the HOPE program on your tenant’s behalf.
But you can refer your tenant to apply.
Once your tenant applies and is accepted, staff at the HOPE program will email you to complete the landlord and tenant agreement and a W-9 tax form.
You will have 21 days to complete this form and send it back to the HOPE program.
Once submitted, rent assistance will go directly to you, the landlord.
As part of the agreement, you as the landlord must agree to the following to receive payments:
- Not to evict your tenant for nonpayment for however long you receive HOPE assistance and at least 60 days after
- Apply HOPE rent assistance to only past owed rent and any future rent
- Waive late fees, penalties and legal fees
- Extend the lease for however long the HOPE program provides assistance
- Not to accept HOPE assistance that duplicates other rent assistance
“We need landlords to sign the paperwork. We need landlords to participate in order to get the payment that they are due from those tenants that have fallen behind on rent,” Hogshead said.
How much assistance can I get?
You can be eligible for rent assistance up 12 months. That includes up to nine months of past rent owed.
The monthly assistance payment will be the same as your monthly rent with the fair market rent of a two-bedroom apartment for your county being the maximum, as defined by HUD.
Fair market rents for your county can be found on HUD’s website at huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.
Utility assistance is offered only for past owed payments and there is a maximum for each utility as follows:
- Electricity: $510
- Natural gas, propane or heating oil: $135
- Water: $105
- Wastewater: $120
The assistance goes straight to the utility provider. You will need to submit your most recent utility bill to receive assistance.
Cooper said at Wednesday’s press conference that tenants and landlords can expect payments within a few weeks.
As of Wednesday, 924 of the over 8,000 applicants have received payments since the new phase of the HOPE program started May 18.
Can I get aid if I’m only behind on utilities?
Yes, you can, but you have to go through the rent assistance application process to do so.
If you’ve missed utility payments since April 1, 2020, and you are eligible based on the other criteria, you are eligible for rent and utility assistance, even if you haven’t missed any rent payments.
Utility assistance by itself though is not offered through the HOPE program.
What about the eviction moratorium?
The nationwide eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September is set to end at the end of June.
But if you apply, are accepted and your landlord agrees to the program’s conditions, you will be protected from eviction for nonpayment past that date, even if you haven’t received payment yet, Hogshead said in an interview with The N&O.
This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 5:50 AM with the headline "NC has COVID money for tenants behind on the rent. Here’s what you need to know.."