A second round of Covid relief to renters and landlords is now open for applications.
Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Office announced Monday it’s accepting applications for the Illinois Rental Payment Program through the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Applications will be accepted now through January 9th at illinoishousinghelp.org.
The reopening of the program will provide an additional $297 million to renters and landlords in an effort to prevent evictions. IHDA will begin processing applications as they are submitted, and money from this round will begin to be distributed to approved Illinoisans before the end of the calendar year. The new round of the plan is funded through an appropriation in the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
IHDA Executive Director Kristin Faust explained how much the grants will be for and who is eligible: “The grants are up to $25,000, and if people need additional help applying, there are community organizations that we’ve contracted with that can also be found on illinoishousinghelp.org to help people that need a little extra assistance. Modest to lower income households that have lost income due to the pandemic and have not been able to pay all of their rent qualify. There is priority given to people at 50% of the media income or if you’ve been unemployed more than 90 days.”
Households that received previous assistance, however, may not receive more than 18 months of total combined assistance, regardless of the source. In addition, households that received federal rental assistance previously may not receive further ILRPP payments for those same months previously covered. IHDA will adjust the ILRPP grant amount in these situations to avoid duplication of assistance.
The additional ILRPP funding is expected to assist more than 32,500 Illinois households.