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Applications For Rent Assistance Are Opening (Again) In Austin. Here's What You Need To Know.

The City of Austin is opening applications for a rent assistance program on Wednesday.
Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
The City of Austin is opening applications for a rent assistance program on Wednesday.

Lee esta historia en español.

The City of Austin will begin accepting applications Wednesday for a second round of rent help for tenants affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Applications open here at 8 a.m.

“The coronavirus endures, the economy struggles [and] renters are increasingly unable to pay their rent as worries mount about being evicted from their homes,” said Rosie Truelove, director of Austin’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department, during a virtual press conference Monday.

The city first announced the program last month, saying it was making some changes after receiving an overwhelming response to its first emergency rent assistance program in May. In just three days, the city received 11,000 applications for assistance, but was only able to pay rent for 1,681 households, totaling $1.26 million.

This time the city will be paying out more than 10 times that amount, pulling from a pot of $12.9 million in federal and local funds. The city says it hopes to cover 10,000 rent payments for Austin residents.

Who qualifies for this rent assistance program?

Applicants must live in Austin, have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and be on a lease or in some sort of contractual relationship for a rental property. This can include living in extended-stay hotels.

More specifically, you must live in Austin's Full Purpose jurisdiction; that means even if you have an Austin mailing address you may not qualify. To find out if you do, you can type your address into this map.

To qualify, renters must have made no more than 80% of the median family income in 2019, which amounted to $75,500 a year for a four-person household. They can't have made much more than that in 2020, either. People are eligible to apply regardless of their immigration status.

There are some restrictions: You cannot apply if you currently benefit from a federal housing subsidy, like a Section 8 voucher, or are a full-time student whose rent is paid by someone else.

I got rent help through the City of Austin’s assistance program in May. Can I apply again?

Yes.

How much money is available per tenant? How does rent get paid?

The city says there is no limit and it will pay the full month’s rent for tenants. This differs from the last round of rent assistance, where tenants were responsible for paying about a third of their income toward rent.

Renters can apply for future rent or rent that is now past due, as far back as April. Those eligible to apply can receive up to six months of rent.

The city pays the landlord directly. Landlords always have the option to not accept the payment. The city said in May “a handful” of landlords turned away the city’s money.

Is it first come, first served? How does the city decide who gets funds?

How quickly you sign up will not make you more likely to be picked. If you sign up in August but aren’t chosen in that first lottery, your application will be considered for the next lottery.

The city says applications will remain open until the money runs out or until January. (The federal grants, which make up most of the city’s funds for this program, must be spent by the end of December.)

The city will use a monthly lottery system to choose tenants and will prioritize the most low-income renters. It’s aiming to pay the rent for 2,000 households per month.

If I’m picked to get rent assistance, when will my landlord get paid?

If you are chosen through the lottery, you’ll be screened for eligibility. If you are indeed eligible, it should take about a week for the check to go out. The city expects to start paying landlords the first week of September.

What if I don’t get picked and I can’t pay my rent?

Local rules protect you from eviction. Evictions in Travis County and Austin are on hold until Oct. 1, but if you’re unable to pay your rent, landlords can still charge late fees.

Clarification: This story was updated to note that the city is considering incomes in both 2019 and 2020 and that tenants are now eligible for up to six months of rent payments.

Got a tip? Email Audrey McGlinchy at audrey@kut.org. Follow her on Twitter @AKMcGlinchy.

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Audrey McGlinchy is KUT's housing reporter. She focuses on affordable housing solutions, renters’ rights and the battles over zoning. Got a tip? Email her at audrey@kut.org. Follow her on Twitter @AKMcGlinchy.
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