Residents of This City Could Get a Share of $19.4 Million in Stimulus Funds

Talk about much-needed relief.

In the course of the pandemic, many people have fallen behind on essential bills, including rent and mortgage payments. Thankfully, there were protections put in place in 2020, like eviction bans and mortgage forbearance, to help tenants and homeowners alike avoid losing their homes. But those protections have, at this point, largely run out.

Meanwhile, lawmakers allocated roughly $46 billion in rent relief funds to help tenants get current on their rent and avoid eviction once the federal moratorium ran out. That money was divided up between states, and each state was tasked with opening up its own rent relief program.

Within each state, different cities were granted rent relief funds to be made available to residents. In Ohio, the City of Toledo was granted $14.3 million in rental assistance dollars, and that was enough to cover over seven months of past-due rent for more than 2,500 homes.

But now, Toledo is getting another allocation of money -- this time, a $19.4 million round of funding. And that could help many of the city's residents avoid losing their homes.

Reallocated funds are being put to good use

Over the past number of weeks, the federal government has taken back unspent rent relief funds from different states and reallocated it to states that have used up their aid and need more. That's not exactly what's happening in Toledo.

The city isn't getting funding that's been clawed back from outside states. Rather, it's getting funds that other cities and counties within Ohio didn't manage to distribute in a timely fashion.

Now to be clear, the reason Toledo is getting this windfall is that it's done a great job of deploying rent relief funds to applicants quickly. Other cities, counties, and states haven't been as efficient, and so they've had their funding clawed back as a result.

Applying for relief

Now that Toledo has a new round of funding at its disposal, tenants in need of rental assistance can apply for a share of it and get current on what they owe. To qualify for aid, tenants must have a valid, current lease, and they must be able to show proof their finances have been negatively impacted since the start of the pandemic.

To satisfy that last bit, tenants can prove they're collecting unemployment benefits or provide pay stubs showing a loss of income or work hours. They can also prove they've incurred significant expenses due to the pandemic.

Applicants must also have an income that doesn't exceed 80% of the city's median income. For a household of one, that means applicants cannot have an income that's higher than $39,450 a year, or $3,288 a month. For a family of four, these limits rise to $56,300 and $4,692, respectively.

Tenants must also work with their landlords to complete certain requirements. But since landlords are ultimately the ones who will receive rent relief funds once approved, it's fair to say many are likely to comply.