Help is coming soon! Program to open in late March.
Good news for Minnesotans seeking rent relief: The new program will be available soon.
We recognize that many people have been directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn and are in great need of assistance. We are working hard to build a program that will make it easy for individuals to apply and relatively quick to process payments.
The new program is called COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance and it will help eligible renters with overdue rent since March 2020, up to three months of upcoming rent at a time, and related utility payments. The program will be open for applications in a matter of weeks, with an anticipated launch in late March.
Eligible renters will include households that earned 80% or less of area median income in 2020 or in the most recent month. Landlords will be able to apply on behalf of their eligible tenants as well. Detailed guidance will be published on this webpage as it becomes available.
Be sure to sign up for updates on the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance program to receive email updates about when the program will open and how to apply.
A note for homeowners:
As the name suggests, the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance program is only open to renters and landlords. We understand that many homeowners are also struggling with housing costs. We anticipate that federal financial assistance may be announced for homeowners in spring 2021. Homeowners can find current information about foreclosure prevention and forbearance here.
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Congress passed a COVID Relief package as part of the omnibus funding package on December 21 and it was signed into law on December 27, 2020.
The Relief package includes $25 billion in emergency rental assistance that will provide an estimated $375 million to Minnesota from the federal government. The new emergency rental assistance program has several key differences from the previous COVID-19 Housing Assistance program that Minnesota Housing offered, which requires more time to evaluate. There are significant details and timing-related issues that need to be resolved, and we do not yet know when the funding will be available for renters to access. The high-level summary of the anticipated new program includes:
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The State of Minnesota will receive at least 55% of the total funding, and cities and counties with populations above 200,000 can receive direct funding for up to 45% of the total. We are waiting for more information about how the distribution will work.
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Subject to funding availability, the assistance is expected to be available for past-due and prospective rent for three months at a time, for up to 12 months. The assistance is for low-income renter households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI), with a priority for households below 50% AMI and households that have been unemployed 90+ days.
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Eligible rental assistance expenses, which we expect will use at least 90% of the funding, will likely include rent, utilities, rent and utility arrears, and other direct rental housing related costs. The remaining 10% of the funding will likely be available for administrative costs and case management and other service costs, although much remains to be determined in this area.
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This is a one-year program, with funds expected to be spent by September 30, 2021 and a spending deadline of December 31, 2021.
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