Texas Rent Relief distributes more than $500M to impacted households

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs announced it has distributed more than $500 million in rental and utility assistance to more than 80,000 Texas households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with another $46 million committed to being paid. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Texas was well ahead of many states in ramping up its program and distributing funds.

"Staff have been working nonstop to get assistance to those in need. We’ve accomplished much in a short amount of time—from being one of the first in the nation to set up a statewide program from scratch to distributing nearly half of our initial funding of $1.3 billion," said TDHCA Executive Director, Bobby Wilkinson. "Still, we know many are facing the very real possibility of eviction or utility disconnects due to financial hardships of the pandemic. We have a lot more work to do, and will continue to press until we exhaust all available funds."

TDHCA is administering $1.3 billion in emergency federal relief funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help income-eligible Texans struggling to keep up with rent and utility payments during the pandemic.

The Texas Rent Relief Program is an opportunity to get up to 12 months of back due rent and even secure up to three months of future rent stability for tenants, as well as utility assistance. Landlords can get up to 15 months of rent paid through this program, but only if they don't evict.

The Texas Rent Relief Program is prioritizing applications for tenants whose landlords have filed for eviction, as eviction and utility moratoriums expire across the state, t Applicants can also indicate on their application if they are at risk of having their utilities disconnected due to nonpayment, which will also prioritize their application for review.

The Texas Rent Relief Program can help renters with these costs starting as far back as March 13, 2020:

Past due, current, and up to 2 months of expected rent costs.
Past due, current, and up to 2 months of expected utility and home energy expenses.
After the initial 3 months of forward assistance, you can apply for 3 additional months of assistance if funds are still available.

TDHCA still has relief funds available and encourages those in need of assistance to review the program requirements and apply online or over the phone by calling the Texas Rent Relief hotline at 833-9TX-RENT (833-989-7368).

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MORE HEADLINES:
Renters Roadmap helps renters understand how to avoid eviction
Austin, Travis County extend eviction moratorium to August 1
City of Austin Utilities continues to provide customers bill assistance
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