To apply for residency, you may contact the onsite leasing staff for the development you wish to apply for or contact your local housing authority for assistance. Researchers have offered estimates of past-due rent in the U.S. ranging from $8.4 billion to $52.6 billion. 0000006939 00000 n Late Fees. Please take our patron satisfaction survey! And only 250 of payments have been sent. Around that time, Johnson said she caught COVID-19 and had to miss a month of work. Hope this timeline helps someone! The Tribune contacted government agencies involved in the program and found that none of them including the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which runs the state rent relief program track how often this happens. Applications will be processed in the order received, prioritizing those facing evictions. Landlords who received rent relief dollars cant evict tenants for any reason related to rent or fees during the time period covered by the funds, according to the program requirements. Texas Rent Relief approved help for me August 27th. Even now, despite our challenges, were ahead of most states in processing applications and making payments, Wilkinson testified, comparing Texas to other large states like California and Florida. The application process is managed through a software application called Neighborly. Many landlords have tried to work with their tenants to try to avoid evictions for back rent during the pandemic, said David Mintz, vice president of government affairs for Texas Apartment Association, a trade group of rental property owners. For others, health issues made going to work unsafe while the pandemic raged out of control. And only 250 payments have been sent. Scott said she complained to a program staffer in October about her landlords conduct, and the staffer referred the complaint to the programs anti-fraud division. Many people, especially women, have been unable to work because of child care responsibilities. "Funding is limited, so anyone who needs help paying their rent and utility bills should review the program requirements now, gather all the necessary paperwork ahead of time, and be ready to apply on March 14.". That makes removing barriers to helping families catch up on the rent even more vital, Rosales said. 4 0 obj Member Newsletters (MEMBERS ONLY) Click Here For Information about Accepting Payments. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has made some changes to the Texas Rent Relief Program in order to make the application and payout process easier. She said the past few months have been hard. 0000012097 00000 n Texas received more than $2 billion out of the American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package President Joe Biden signed into law last year, to set up the Texas Rent. AUSTIN - The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) announced it will re-open the Texas Rent Relief (TRR) application portal from March 14-28 in order to accept new applications for a remaining $96M in TRR funds. While applications can be made online through the programs portal, the TDHCA call center at (833) 9TX-RENT (833-989-7368) will be available to submit applications over the phone. Interests %PDF-1.7 Those constituents were told they were unable to receive their eligible assistance while the agency recouped the funds, the lawmakers wrote Thursday to TDHCA board Chair Leo Vasquez. Effectiveness of. The reallocation process only applies to duplicate payments between our program and Texas Rent Relief. Utilities, Clothing for Children, Employment assistance services. Now, with a remaining $96 million in rent relief funds, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) re-opened the Texas Rent Relief Program (TRR) and online applications through the portal will be accepted for a limited time from March 14 to 28. According to the TRR portal, the program provided over $2 billion in emergency funds since its launch, helping more than 310,000 Texas families remain stably housed during the pandemic. rental assistance programs, totaling $46.55 billion. But Johnsons victory was short-lived. V o l . First-time applicants may be eligible for up to 18 months of aid with rent and utility bills. Texas Rent Relief gave me a second (or duplicate) payment for a tenant's month of rent. When the pandemic hit last year, millions of people across the country lost wages after they were laid off, furloughed or saw work hours cut. Then they mailed it to the wrong address twice and they want to evict me. 0000058032 00000 n According to a legislative report, of the 176,000 people who have begun applications for rental assistance, just over 1,000 have had their applications approved. Her former landlord had taken the rent relief funds after they evicted her. But she still hasnt found a place to live. SOURCE Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Cision Distribution 888-776-0942 SACRAMENTO - California's COVID-19 Rent Relief Program is reaching a significant milestone today - by the end of the day, more than $1 billion in funding will be obligated - meaning the money has either been paid or approved for payment and awaiting disbursement - and will assist over 74,000 additional households. Appeals must be submitted within 30 days. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning), Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy, Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American, https://texaslawhelp.org/eviction-referral, Texas Utility Help Program Receives More Energy Bill Assistance Funding, Expands Water Bill Assistance with Future Payments, Texas Utility Help Program Re-Opens Energy Bill Assistance. You can login to the site as a landlord or as a tenant. 0000002829 00000 n Once the application is submitted, applicants need to remain alert for emails or calls from TDHCAs representatives who could ask for additional information. endobj It is kind of a miracle that they are able to do it.. Sign up here. But those are the exact grounds that RDRH Holdings cited when it sued to evict Gates, Stamm said. An employee at Blazers office who answered the phone declined to answer questions. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) created this COVID-19 relief program in February of 2021. In her case, the check arrived in time but went to the wrong place. Failure to respond would only delay the application process. Your application status will flash one of the following statuses as provided in the chart. Founded in 1997, the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers (TAAHP) is a non-profit trade association serving as the primary advocate and leading resource for the affordable housing industry in Texas. Since their October eviction from their Katy apartment, Scott and her four children have lived in hotels and other temporary settings. The states leadership shouldve been prepared to get money out to struggling renters as soon as Congress approved the funding, Rosales said, but instead have focused on their own political interests. If the agency finds the allegations are credible, it can refer the cases to the state auditors office, the Treasurys inspector general or local law enforcement agencies. Cherice Scotts landlord evicted her and her family in October, then cashed a check for rental assistance funds intended to keep them housed. By the end of March, only 250 people had actually got help paying for rent out of 72,000 completed applications. Cherice Scotts son, 6-year-old Teegan McKinney, plays at a park in Houston. Payment cannot be released until 90 days after the initial disbursement date; however, be advised that review and approval timelines will often exceed 90 days from the last disbursement. The statewide TEDP is funded through a set-aside of the Texas Rent Relief Program (texasrentrelief.com), which launched February 15, 2021, stopped accepting new applications for rental assistance as of November 5, 2021, and committed 99% of all total funds by January 13, 2022. But the tenants are still the ones holding the bag.. This Plano family got evicted after the Texas Rent Relief program paid the wrong landlord. TDHCA announced that they would be accepting new applications in March of 2023 to distribute the remaining funds. The TRR program will be accepting online applications from March 14 to 28, providing aid with rent and utility bills for up to 18 months for first-time applicants. %PDF-1.7 % There have been nearly 50,000 eviction filings in Houston since the beginning of the pandemic. We continue to see a strong need for assistance, and eviction filings statewide have now returned to pre-pandemic levels. All those folks acted in good faith on something that we offered them, that theyre by definition entitled toand by some sort of error, theyre not getting the relief that they need, and then the state Supreme Court let its rules around the eviction moratorium lapse, Bernal said. When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type. Attempts to reach the property owner RDRH Holdings Inc., an Austin-based corporation and its president were unsuccessful. I am amazed at the strength and resilience that these folks have to figure out how to get on the internet, when they dont have internet at home, and their resourcefulness in getting rent relief at this point, she said. Two months later, Scott received an email acknowledging her complaint but said she hasnt heard back since. 0000068016 00000 n But housing advocates and lawyers who represent tenants facing eviction say they routinely see cases of Texas landlords accepting thousands of dollars from the government and evicting the tenants the money was intended to help. Some tenants who spoke to the Tribune about their cases said they called a hotline used to report fraud, waste and abuse in the state rent relief program and never heard back about their complaints. And a large and growing percentage of that is over a year old at this point.. Mailbag: Evermore. If issues are discovered or brought to our attention, like payments sent to an incorrect address, or payments sent to a landlord who has evicted the tenant, we will take corrective measures, like recapture or other necessary steps.. In order to collect this late fee, the landlord must have included notice of it in a written lease. You will be asked to create an account and then . 0000068079 00000 n 0000030230 00000 n That happens even when tenants win their eviction cases in court. Members in the News (MEMBERS ONLY) Thats created a confusing patchwork of rental assistance across the state, with rules for how to navigate them still unclear, and its forcing landlords into an odd new role. Scott and her husband had fallen behind on rent in June after Scott stopped working to take care of her youngest daughter, who has Down syndrome, and the medical bills piled up. Weeks after her eviction, Scott received an email from Texas Rent Relief on Nov. 9 acknowledging that it had initially sent the check to the wrong address. Prior to 2019, there was often confusion about what counted as a "reasonable" late fee. Neighborhood Centers Inc: 713-665-3600. COVID-19 hb``b``yX01 $J|*]gw"sq7X>6>^`hD"0Q{in00 Y? ` q endstream endobj 5 0 obj <> endobj 6 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 792.0 612.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 7 0 obj <> endobj 8 0 obj <> endobj 9 0 obj [/ICCBased 22 0 R] endobj 10 0 obj [/Separation/Red 9 0 R<>] endobj 11 0 obj <> endobj 12 0 obj <>stream Prior to any payment being made to a tenant directly, TRR will make three attempts to request that the landlord participates in the program via email, phone, or text, over no less than a 5 calendar-day period. For checking the Texas rent relief application status, you can either go online or call them up at 1-833-989-7368. Some households will still qualify for the program while others will not. Shes focused on finding a new place for her and her seven children to live. When Cherice Scott received a notice last September that she, her husband and their four children would soon be kicked out of their Katy apartment, she said employees at the complex told her not to worry about it. I shouldnt have.. Texas Tech To Host Art Gallery. 0000024288 00000 n Both the federal and state government added enforcement provisions when they created the rent relief programs. Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Section 8 housing voucher Low-income residents may be eligible to get help paying rent. 0000002471 00000 n Johnson had asked the office manager whether they had received the latest check, she said. To get that protection, you'll need to attest on a declaration form that you meet a few requirements, such as that you earned less than $99,000 in 2020 or 2021. Information in this guide is subject to change at any time. Payments have been approved for more than 2,200 additional households, the agency dashboard indicated Friday. The . 0000009428 00000 n My landlord has signed up with bill.com to receive payment via ACH, so hopefully, he will receive payment sooner than later. As much as we work to mitigate human error, the potential for application errors exists. Since being evicted from their home in Katy, Cherice Scott and her four children have lived in hotels and other temporary settings, most recently a short-term rental in Missouri City. *L#H0o=M6S:{D A^o l'a7*, KERA also reached out to Gov. I trusted them, Scott said. TAAHP does not facilitate applications for affordable housing. All rights reserved. Faced with a pot of federal money larger than the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs' annual budget, the state agency contracted Houston-based management consultancy Horne LLP to run the Texas Rent Relief program, agreeing to pay the company more than $42 million. Expected time in this status: less than one week. Johnsons lawyer recorded the call. By clicking the plus sign by one of the listed programs, the page will expand and provide the full details of that program. Request for assistance has been verified and approved. Residents of McNair, Baytown, Highlands or Chambers County. r.t)gfv9~;Y>)?4{(gbx|/Ipv.8|0a(#0`~GhFc=pxr1{YpG0 What do I do? 2401 E 6th Street, Ste 3037, PMB 153, Austin, TX 78702. Health The email and template I was provided: Support@texasrentrelief.com Subject: Your Tenant case id. At a Jan. 10 eviction hearing, Gates said she told Williamson County Justice of the Peace KT Musselman she had been approved for rent relief and explained that the check went to the wrong address facts she said the property manager, who represented the landlord in court, backed up. Check status periodically. Johnson, a manager of a hair salon and certified nursing assistant, had asked the program in October for help covering rent while she recovered from giving birth to her son and couldnt work. Scott said she spoke to the office staff and walked away believing she didnt need to worry about eviction as they waited for the relief money or to bother showing up to court. Our vision is to inspire and engage our members and stakeholders to end the affordable housing crisis in Texas. In late March she started a new job teaching at an early learning center. 0000088009 00000 n This is our third or fourth round of rental assistance for some of these folks, and the documentation process for each round has been different and the application process has been a little bit different, he said. As of August 11, 2021, TRR has paid over $658 million in rent and utility assistance to assist over 107,000 households, and funding is still available. If tenants feel they have been unjustly evicted, they can appeal the eviction, Mintz said. trailer <]/Prev 155979>> startxref 0 %%EOF 48 0 obj <>stream 0000008211 00000 n Payment is in process. He was asked whether he planned to reduce the $42 million contract with Horne LLP due to the troubled rollout, and said his team is reviewing the contract. Nov. 9, 2021 - (Tarrant County) - As of Friday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m., the Texas Rent Relief Program (TRR), the State of Texas' rental assistance program, stopped accepting applications. But none of that recovered money is helping tenants ousted from their homes, said Julia Ordua, Southeast Texas regional director for Texas Housers, a nonprofit low-income housing advocacy group. Cities and counties that operate local rental assistance programs have $368 million. Ask us! Interests Then in December, the property owner filed an eviction case against Gates and gave her a notice to vacate. 0000002863 00000 n For example, the program bars landlords from accepting rent relief payments after they evict a tenant. The Texas Rent Relief program was set up to help people pay their bills. . This story has been updated to include comments from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The Apartment Association of Greater Dallas has compiled a list of state and local rental assistance programs. Print Feedback. Then she gave up her job at the Katy hospital to care once more for her youngest daughter. I did everything right, and to still have my stuff thrown down the street its just something that Im still trying to process, Gates said. "To date, Texas Rent Relief has served . Mattingly said more than 400 of his companys residents have tried to apply to the program. Evaluating the. They can visit https://texaslawhelp.org/eviction-referral or call 855-270-7655 for help understanding their options and to seek free or low-cost legal assistance. :>W:lfD;)SHK(r$Iy2lj\*vj-Wf8+GfJs &Xsua9fqsJYKk~(FbD*fwG[VEiG]e29^Qv($6,9arts1y$ GS?u(-4Wc-J(,_@&U Software problems left the program struggling and spotty, with tenants and landlords complaining of accessibility problems, unanswered phone calls and the inability to check the status of an application, according to the report. The following provides performance of the Texas Rent Relief Program, as of May 12, 2021: More than $110 million has been paid or is in the process of being paid. The state is using the more than $1 billion in money from the latest federal COVID-19. But she said the program doesnt allow landlords to receive back rent if theyve evicted a tenant the opposite of what the email to Scott said. I am being evicted for not paying rent. Advocacy Alerts The Texas Rent Relief Program, a COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), will be receiving an additional $47.8 million to help address the backlog of assistance requests. In other words, Scott had already been evicted, but Texas Rent Relief was letting the landlord keep the money more than $11,000 in apparent contradiction of its own policy. As of Wednesday, the program has assisted more than 300,000 households. TXHAF provides eligible homeowners with . Find programs to help you with rent or utility payments, help you find a rent-reduced apartment, help you find emergency housing or homeless shelters, and more. 0000010218 00000 n Calls to Musemeche were not returned. Tirloni, the TDHCA spokesperson, declined to discuss individual tenants cases, including Scotts, citing state law that prevents TDHCA from disclosing information about people who receive benefits from programs administered by the agency. After weeks of phone calls, a Texas Rent Relief program staffer told Scott that her former landlord had indeed received the rent relief money in mid-November more than $11,000, enough to cover the six months back rent they owed. The ERA program makes funding available to states, U.S. territories, local governments, and tribes to assist households that are unable to pay rent or utilities. 0000020158 00000 n Utility Payment Program Provides assistance to eligible Texas homeowners with qualified hardships to pay past due utility bills and up to three (3) months of prospective payments. Do you value our journalism? This program has specific eligibility requirements and not all households may be eligible. A scathing staff report from the Texas House Urban Affairs Committee released Monday details a host of issues that have plagued the more than $1 billion rent relief program. QAP Alerts (MEMBERS ONLY) If you need help paying rent in Katy, or other financial assistance, reach out to Katy Christian Ministries for more information on their programs. Prior to any payment being made to a tenant directly, TRR will make three attempts to request that the landlord participates in the program via email, phone, or text, over no less than a 5 calendar-day period. 1. First-time TRR applicants may be eligible for up to 18 months of rent and utility bill assistance, either with past due payments or a combination of past due and up to three months of current and future payments made on their behalf. 0000025788 00000 n And frankly, theyre tired.. 0000026104 00000 n You cant get paid directly, and also break the promises you made that were designed to keep someone in their home.. But The Texas Tribune interviewed tenants from across the state who were approved for federal rental assistance and were evicted anyway. Other organizations That help paying rent in Houston. Starting October 10, 2022, all new utility assistance payments are issued directly to the tenant to ensure timely and accurate utility assistance payments. by Christopher Connelly, KERA News These landlords are the prime beneficiary of these rental assistance programs and just en masse have been violating the provisions of the programs and on top of that consistently misleading judges and securing judgments and evictions, even when theyre receiving funds.. If you need assistance with a previously submitted application, our customer service staff can assist you by phone by calling 1-833-9TX-RENT (1-833-989-7368). 1 0 obj Texas' rent relief program has been plagued by problems that slow payments and could prompt evictions According to a legislative report, of the 176,000 people who have begun applications. Our evening roundup will help you stay on top of the day's latest updates. They lose their jobs, they lose their health, they have trouble with their relationships, they have trouble getting back on their feet, said Christina Rosales, deputy director for the advocacy group Texas Housers. endobj In a phone interview, Musselman declined to say why he ruled in favor of Gates landlord. Housing experts say they expect expiration of the eviction rules will make the already spotty protections of the eviction moratorium even more unevenly applied. Release of information or other details will be required under some circumstances. Perhaps it goes without saying but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. To request this information, please contact us toll-free at 833-9TX-RENT (833-989-7368). Maybe the money will be returned to Treasury and the wrong will be righted for the government, Ordua said. The rent relief checks cleared RDRHs bank account on Feb. 4 less than two weeks after Gates was evicted. Scott had landed a new job as a dietician at a local hospital when she returned from work one afternoon in early October to find most of her belongings spread out on the lawn and the locks changed. This time period has been shortened based on direction from the Department of Treasury. Show us with your support. Assistance continues to grow with an average of $6 million approved per day in the last week, with marked increases seen weekly. Its unclear whether landlords face any penalties from state agencies for improperly evicting tenants while receiving rent relief dollars intended to help those tenants stay housed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 3/11/2021 Funding Update: $918,238,535 available When Congress set aside more than $46 billion for emergency rental assistance, they intended for that money to keep people in their homes, said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat from Houston. Women In Business. You can even upload documents for an attorney to review. Texas Rent Relief approved her for a little over $3,100 about three months worth of rent. It hurts, that really hurts. 0000078063 00000 n She said she has spent thousands of dollars on application fees to at least 10 homes and apartment complexes and all of them have denied her because she now has an eviction on her record. When tickets go on sale in May, Tribune members will save big. You cant have it both ways with Texas Rent Relief, Stamm said. It got off to a rocky start when it signed up just a few hundred people in the first few months.