Statewide COVID-19 Rental Relief Program Launches Monday, Feb 15, 8 a.m. CST

· The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) received approximately $1.3 billion in emergency relief funds from the national Coronavirus Relief Bill Rental Assistance Program. TDHCA launched the statewide Texas Rent Relief program to help income-eligible Texans struggling to keep up with rent and utility payments during the pandemic. · For information and to apply: 1-833-9TX-RENT (1-833-989-7368) or visit TexasRentRelief.com. · Assistance is available in multiple languages. · Households must have incomes at or below 80% of the Area Median Income and meet several other criteria. (Full details at TexasRentRelief.com) · Per federal guidelines, TDHCA will prioritize applications for an initial time period for households at or below 50% of the area median income level and households where one or more members are currently unemployed and have been for at least 90 days. · Both landlords and tenants can apply – even if the landlord has already sued for eviction in their local court. · The Texas Rent Relief Program can help renters with costs starting as far back as March 13, 2020: · Past due, current and up to 3 months of expected rent costs · Past due, current and up to 3 months of expected utility and home energy expenses · After the initial 3 months of forward assistance, you can apply for 3 additional months of assistance if funds are still available · TDHCA’s call center is fully staffed and prepared to handle a large volume of calls. Interpreter services are also available in more than 250 languages. Since announcing the program, the call center has received nearly 5,000 calls from landlords and renters. · TDHCA is working with other state agencies, affordable housing and rental associations, utilities and more to inform people about the Texas Rent Relief program. The agency created an outreach toolkit with printable fliers and social media graphics for anyone to share, available at TexasRentRelief.com. TDHCA is also working closely with media outlets across the state, including major market, rural and minority outlets.