Virginia Rent Relief Program still going strong, expanding outreach Money (Source: Pixabay) By Andrew Webb | April 11, 2021 at 8:06 PM EDT - Updated April 11 at 8:06 PM
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Virginia’s Rent Relief Program continues to have a lasting impact on households impacted by COVID-19.
Now, people who are eligible for unemployment benefits, are also able to receive rent relief through this program. Other qualifications include having a gross income at 80% or lower of the area median income and rent must be at or below 150% of fair market rent.
“We have seen $721,000 in rent and mortgage relief payments paid throughout the City of Charlottesville,” Amanda Love with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development said. “That’s been about 254 households that have been able to take advantage of this program.”
Virginia Works to Mitigate Evictions Crisis, Implement Long-Term Solutions to Increase Housing Stability
~ Pilot program will award $2.6 million in grants to build local capacity for eviction reduction services in highly impacted localities, address immediate and post-pandemic needs ~
RICHMOND Governor Ralph Northam today announced the new Virginia Eviction Reduction Pilot (VERP) Program, which will award more than $2.6 million in grants to 14 localities to help build capacity and implement eviction prevention and diversion programs that address the underlying causes of evictions.
The funding will support several communities identified as having the highest eviction rates in the Commonwealth, including the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Richmond. The four eviction prevention pilot programs in these cities will support local and regional initiatives in the counties of Gloucester, James City, Lee, Matthews, Scott, Wise, and York, as well as the cities of Norton, Poqu
The state will immediately put $160 million of that money into the Virginia Rent Relief Program, which is funded by the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program. The rest of the money will be released on an as-needed basis, and the entire program will be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, according to Mr. Northam’s office.
Virginia renters will be able to apply the new relief funds toward past-due rent stretching back to April and up until May this year. Total assistance cannot exceed 15 months per household.
The Virginia Rent and Mortgage Relief Program was established in June and has provided $83.7 million for 24,294 rent and mortgage payments, with the majority of recipients being families with children, state officials said.
(Richmond)- Help is on the way to keep Virginians in their homes. Governor Northam says 524-million-dollars in federal funding is being provided to the Virginia Rent Relief Program. Tenants interested in applying for assistance can dial 2-1-1 from their phone for a self assessment. The funds could help people cover rent as far back as April of last year and up to three months in advance, but no more than 15 months total per household.