Need help covering rent or utilities? KC has $25 million in extra assistance funds
The Missouri Housing Development Commission is providing Kansas City with $25 million in COVID relief funds to the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, or ERAP. The city is using the money to help struggling renters pay their past-due bills and to help those facing evictions with case management.
The program will help renters and households pay off current or past-due bills dating back to April 1, 2020 and up to three months of future rent.
Ron Farmer, the co-founder of CHES, Inc, one of the community agencies that received funding to help people apply for rent assistance, said the biggest struggle they’re seeing in applicants right now is that people don’t have enough funds to cover rent and higher utility costs.
“I believe we are just beginning to see the impact of higher utility bills,” Farmer said. “Since we have been clearing arrears that, in some cases, date back 12 months, the significant increase in utility bills are just now beginning to surface.”
He sees increases in utilities, food and transportation costs prolonging the hardship many families face. The organization is processing around 200 rent, utility and mortgage assistance requests each month and at its height, there were around 2,500 applicants across all area nonprofits that help sign up people for ERAP, like the Guadalupe Center and Greater Kansas City Housing Information Center.
If you’re having a hard time covering rent and utilities, here’s how to determine if you’re eligible for assistance and how to apply.
AM I ELIGIBLE
The city defines eligibility by the following criteria:
If you’ve qualified for unemployment benefits
You’ve experienced a loss in household income
You have financial hardship as a result of COVID-19
If you demonstrate risk of becoming homeless or having housing instability, which includes a past due utility bill or an eviction notice
If your household income is at or below 80% of the area median income
HOW CAN I APPLY?
Follow this link to apply for rent assistance. You’ll need the following documents:
A form of identification, like a driver’s license or passport
Documentation of residency. A lease or another form that shows you live there
Documentation of income. This can be a W2, your 2020 tax return or an approval letter for a program, such as Medicaid
Documentation of need, either the landlord letter or the utility bill that shows how much you owe.
They only take one application per household at a time. The applicant’s name must be on the lease agreement or the utility’s account.
It could take between four to six weeks before you receive a response for your application, as there are many applicants in the city. If you’re accepted, the money you receive goes to the landlord or the utility company.
HOW TO GET HELP APPLYING
If you need help applying, the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance Center is open Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4400 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. You’ll have to call 816-513-4501 to schedule an appointment.
The City of KCMO also gave funding to local community agencies like CHES, Inc. to help people with rent and utility assistance applications.
Farmer said they help people navigate the application process and that organizations like his write the checks and send those directly to landlords and utility companies.
He said they also look at a renter’s situation and see if there’s anything else they can do to help. They then work with them and set up appointments to meet with organizations, like BankOn and Money Smart KC to help them with child care, job training, resume building and money management.
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
