COBB COUNTY, Ga. — People who rent their home in Cobb County can apply for federal aid this week.
Commissioners set aside $22.8 million for rental assistance. The application process begins on April 1, which is Thursday.
The new assistance can also help with utility bills.
Who is eligible to seek assistance?
An “eligible household” is defined as a renter household in which at least one or more individuals meets the following criteria:
- Qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19;
- Demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and
- Has a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median
What can those funds be used for?
- Assistance can be provided for rent, rental arrears, utilities and home energy costs, utilities and home energy costs arrears, and other expenses related to housing.
Who will handle applications for the funds?
The same groups who worked with the county on the CARES assistance will also handle this new grant program. Those groups are:
- HomeFree-USA,
- Star-C Corporation,
- MUST Ministries,
- The Center for Family Resources, and;
- Sweetwater Mission.
On Monday, the CDC also extended the country’s eviction moratorium to June 30. It was set to expire Wednesday.
The ban, initially put in place last year, provides protection for renters out of concern that having families lose their homes and move into shelters or share crowded conditions with relatives or friends during the pandemic would further spread the highly contagious virus, which has killed more than 545,000 people in the United States.
To be eligible for the housing protection, renters must earn $198,000 annually or less for couples filing jointly, or $99,000 for single filers; demonstrate that they’ve sought government help to pay the rent; declare that they can’t pay because of COVID-19 hardships; and affirm they are likely to become homeless if evicted.