Officials with the EP Rent Help Program, say that Landlords will soon begin receiving payments from the program to help their tenants avoid eviction due to the impacts of COVID-19.
The City of El Paso and El Paso County have allocated more than $13 million in federal funding to the EP Rent Help program which is administered by the Paso del Norte Community Foundation (PDNCF).
“No matter where you live in El Paso County, you may be eligible to receive funding from the EP Rent Help program,” officials with the program share.
“While the program has received applications from all over the county, the most applications have come from ZIP codes which include Far East El Paso, Montana Vista and Homestead Meadows. So far, no applications have been received from the ZIP codes including Tornillo, Clint, San Elizario, Vinton and Anthony, Texas.”
Distribution of the first wave of direct assistance, valued at approximately $770,000, will begin next week. That still leaves millions of dollars in assistance available for qualified families across El Paso County.
Funds received from the EP Rent Help programs are grants which do not have to be repaid.
“More than three-quarters of a million dollars will help hundreds of families in our community stay in their homes,” said Tracy Yellen, CEO of PDNCF. “This first wave of direct assistance is just the beginning; our team continues reviewing applications and we expect to distribute millions of dollars more in the coming weeks.”
Program administrators say renters do not have to upload a lot of paperwork to begin their application. They only need to upload the following items to the Web site to begin your application:
- Driver’s license
- Lease
- One proof of housing instability.
“We encourage every eligible tenant in El Paso County who is experiencing housing insecurity due to COVID-19 to work with their landlord to apply today,” Yellen said. “We’re especially committed to raising awareness of the program in outlying communities with the assistance of the Reduce the Risk campaign’s community health workers and via direct mail.”
For questions about the application process, contact the United Way of El Paso County’s Community Resiliency Center at (877) 594-7276.
Quick Facts About EP Rent Help
- All applications must be submitted via EPRentHelp.org.
- To qualify, a tenant’s household income must be less than or equal to 80 percent of the 2020 Average Median Income in El Paso County, Texas.
- Assistance is available no matter where you live in the county, whether it’s inside a city or outside a city.
- Tenants can receive assistance to pay up to 12 months of past due rent and up to three months of future rent. The number of months of assistance provided will depend on eligibility and funding source.
Applications for rental assistance have been received will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds are exhausted.
