Articles — rental assistance

RENTAL ASSISTANCE UPDATE Lexington's rental assistance program has become much more landlord-friendly. The Housing Stabilization Program has removed the 45-day waiting period and the 30-day notice requirement from its settlement agreements. This means that if your tenant receives assistance but fails to resume paying rent once the money runs out, you may proceed to give your usual notice to pay or vacate immediately rather than waiting for 45 days then giving a 30-day notice. This is good news that should encourage more landlords to participate in the program and get their rent paid. The settlement agreement still requires that you...

As I mentioned in my last update, millions of dollars in rental assistance are still available. In Lexington, the Housing Stabilization Program has now opened the application process for tenants to receive a second round of funding. That means tenants who received HSP funding already are again eligible to receive additional assistance. The caveat is that the tenant may only receive a total of 15 months of funding.  So, if your tenant received 10 months of funding already, that tenant is now eligible to receive up to five months of additional funding. The same eligibility requirements are in place, and...

NOTE: HUD has issued new guidance since this article was written. Click here to see the new information.  It’s been a while since I’ve had good news on the housing front, but I’m here to bring some positivity today.  BURYING THE CARES ACT  Congress passed the CARES Act last spring in as its first wave of relief in addressing COVID-19. It covered any property that participated in a federal government program or that had a loan insured by the federal government. For those properties, it created an eviction moratorium, a ban on late fees, and a requirement that landlords give...

As we close out the first month of 2021, I hope your new year has gotten off to a good start. We’ve had some new developments in the rental industry, so here’s your update on where things stand: CDC Eviction Moratorium Likely to Be Extended  In my last update, I noted that it was almost certain that President Biden would seek to extend the moratorium beyond January 31. On his first day in office, he signed an Executive Order asking the CDC to extend their Eviction Moratorium through March 31, 2021, and they have agreed to do so.  He has...