IHDA Announces Rental Assistance Program

By Benjamin Cox on August 10, 2020 at 9:34am

Illinois will launch a new rental assistance program that could help approximately 30,000 tenants struggling to keep a roof over their heads.

the Illinois Housing Development Authority is opening applications today for $5000 to catch up on payments missed since March or to cover payments until the end of the year. Applications will be accepted through August 21st.

The Illinois General Assembly earmarked $396 million from the federal coronavirus aid package to pay for rental and mortgage assistance for people who lost jobs or wages due to the pandemic.  Of that, $100 million will go to areas identified as disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.

The mortgage assistance program is slated to go online on September 24th.

Approximately 511,000 households in Illinois did not pay last month’s rent or deferred a payment, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities of census data collected between June 25 and July 7. The halt on evictions is in place until August 22nd.

The applicants will be selected for the grants by a randomization process. The plan by IHDA is to start distributing rental assistance by the end of this month.

To qualify for IHDA’s rental assistance, tenants must make less than 80% of the area median income and have lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenants can check their eligibility by providing their zip code and income on IHDA’s website.

To apply, renters must provide information about their household, rent and landlord, a government-issued identification, and proof of current address. Landlords will need to provide financial information, the lease, tax bill or deed, property management agreement and proof of past-due rent.

Governor J.B. Pritzker is expected to announce more details about the program at 10:30 this morning in Chicago.