Floridians recovering from pandemic-related income losses can still get help paying past-due rent and mortgage bills.
鈥淎s long as folks can attest that they鈥檝e lost income, they鈥檝e lost employment, they鈥檝e been negatively affected by the pandemic - then they鈥檙e likely to qualify,鈥� said Trey Price, executive director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. 鈥淧erhaps they鈥檝e seen hospital or health care bills pile up.鈥�
Price says household earnings don鈥檛 factor into who qualifies for rental assistance. Homeowners, however, must earn below 140 % of the area median income to qualify.
Since local housing offices began disbursing funds over the summer, more than 9,600 households statewide have gotten help with rent and mortgage payments through the program. That's in addition to the number of households that have received assistance through separate coronavirus relief programs in the state鈥檚 major cities, Price said.
鈥淥rlando, Miami and Tampa have been doing this for quite some time,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e an extra shot in the arm for those towns.鈥�
Price says it's not too late for people to apply for assistance.
Right now, a federal halt on evictions for tenants who've lost their jobs or income as a result of the pandemic. Price says it鈥檚 important for renters who are behind with their payments to seek assistance before that moratorium expires at the end of the year.
鈥淛ust because you don鈥檛 pay doesn鈥檛 mean that it鈥檚 not owed,鈥� Price said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do is get those folks who have been affected by COVID to be squared up with their accounts before the eviction moratorium runs out.鈥�
Landlords and mortgage lenders receive payments directly from the local housing office on behalf of tenants and homeowners whose applications are approved.
Some banks have temporarily stopped requiring mortgage payments from homeowners who鈥檝e taken a financial hit during the pandemic. 鈥淭here are some folks who aren鈥檛 paying their mortgage right now because they鈥檙e in forbearance,鈥� Price said. Other banks aren鈥檛 offering homeowners a break on their payments. 鈥淭hose are primarily the folks that we鈥檙e trying to target.鈥�
Using federal CARES Act dollars, the state established a $250 million Coronavirus Relief Fund for housing assistance over the summer.
Almost half of the fund - $120 million - was set aside to assist homeowners and tenants with mortgage and rent payments. Florida Housing has so far distributed $115 million to cities and counties across the state.
Here鈥檚 a glimpse at what the program looks like in Bay County, according to statistics from ReHouse Bay, the local center for housing assistance:
- Sixty-five households in Panama City have received help paying their rent or mortgage bills.
- The city has collected $295,252 for the program from Florida Housing. Most of that - $189,465 - has been spent to assist renters and homeowners recovering from economic hardship related to the pandemic.
- Bay County has received $795,874. Almost all of that funding - $769,540 - has been paid to assist 211 households.
Local housing officials say the county is expecting to get an additional $100,000 for mortgage and rent payment assistance later this month, Caitlin Lawrence, the city鈥檚 public information officer, wrote in an email.
County residents can apply for help online or at City Hall in downtown Panama City.
Price says funding is available through local housing offices across the state through the Dec. 30 application deadline. 鈥淓ven those local governments that have moved all of their money, there鈥檚 going to be more available for them to move before the deadline.鈥�
He says that鈥檚 because some of the funding originally set aside for affordable housing assistance will likely be re-allocated to the rent and mortgage payment assistance program.
鈥淲ith Florida Housing鈥檚 portfolio, we were committed more money than we were going to be able to put out,鈥� he said. Local governments can apply for those dollars after they鈥檝e spent the funds they鈥檝e received so far. 鈥淚f they鈥檝e exhausted those funds - they鈥檙e going to be able to tap into more funds that we鈥檙e making available.鈥�
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