Wake County expands rent and utility assistance with $33 million in federal funding
Wake County has begun accepting applications for its rental assistance program with $33 million in federal funding from the COVID-19 stimulus passed by Congress in late December.
Due to its large population, the federal government allocated $19 million in rental assistance directly to Wake County and $14 million to the City of Raleigh from the nationwide amount of $25 billion in rental assistance passed in the December stimulus.
Both the city and county have approved these funds to be administered through the House Wake! COVID-19 Financial Assistance Program, which began back in late September with $6 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES, funding.
Due to that limited funding, the county initially only covered rent and utility payments for six months and required that the landlord agree to provide a 25% discount in rent for the subsequent three months.
“We were trying to stretch the dollars as far as we possibly could,” said Lorena McDowell, Wake County’s housing department director, in an interview with the N&O.
McDowell said the three-month period was to help tenants facing eviction after CARES Act funding expired at the end of December and until Congress passed more COVID-19 stimulus.
With the increase in federal funding, the county is now able to pay back rent and utility payments going back to April of last year and up to 12 months in future payments.
The three-month discount stipulation for landlords is no longer required.
These changes are partly due to federal guidelines that require them and because of the increase in funding, McDowell said.
“We’re excited that we’ll be able to help more renters,” she said. “We’re excited that we’ll be able to do more for our landlords that are also really struggling in this time.”
The program had received 2,492 applications before it stopped accepting them on Jan. 31.
Since the county started accepting again on Monday, it has received over 300 applications, according to data from the county.
Tenants in Wake County can apply for the rent and utility assistance at housewake.org. Tenants can also apply by calling (919) 899-9911 or emailing housing@telamon.org.
How Wake County’s rental assistance program works
To be eligible for the assistance, the tenant household must be 80% or below the area median income, which is just over $80,000 in Wake County as of 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Wake County will prioritize those at 50% or less of the median income.
Tenants must have previously qualified for unemployment payments, had income loss or incurred some other financial hardship due to the pandemic.
The county is also providing utility assistance for electric, water, sewer, gas, oil, trash, recycling and internet.
Tenants must recertify eligibility every three months due to federal requirements. Additional assistance after the first three months is also dependent on funding.
If a tenant is accepted, Wake County will provide for all rent and utility costs for the first three months.
After those first three months, those over 50% of the area median income must begin paying 30% of the costs while the county covers the rest.
For those below the 50% threshold, the county will continue to cover all of the costs.
People can apply for assistance for only utilities, and the county will cover all of those costs regardless of income.
Rent and utility payments from the county go directly to landlords and utility companies.
If a landlord does not agree to the rent assistance, the county will provide free legal services for tenants in partnership with Legal Aid of North Carolina.
More assistance for Wake County on the way
On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act which includes another $21.6 billion in rent assistance. Wake County and the City of Raleigh will receive a not yet specified amount of that funding as well.
Gov. Roy Cooper signed state H.B. 196 on Thursday. A part of that bill allocates the $546.5 million in the December federal stimulus that went directly to North Carolina.
As part of the bill, Wake County will receive another $16.8 million from the state.
Some state officials and affordable housing advocates have criticized H.B. 196 for complicating statewide rent assistance due to the funding cap it imposes on each county.