PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — According to the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department, over $268 million in rental relief assistance has been distributed to more than 38,000 Oregon households experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic, as of Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2022.
Through the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program, local program administrators and Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) have reportedly granted $268.1 million in federal emergency rental assistance to 38,078 households – a measurable jump from the $256.3 million and 36,632 applicants reported last week.
While the amount of relief distributed by OHCS is impressive, the department has now reportedly paid out 93% of all available federal emergency rental assistance funds.
According to OHCS, the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program has remained one of the highest performing programs in the US, and is currently “ranked fifth in the nation, in the percentage of federal ERA funds paid out and obligated, as tracked by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.”
After reopening the portal on Jan. 26, OHCS is now accepting new applications for rental assistance.
The department noted, in order to maximize relief impact for those in need, applicants who previously received relief through the program and apply on or after the portal reopening will not be eligible for assistance.
OHCS said they are actively reviewing 5,177 relief applications that were submitted before Dec. 1, 2021.
“New applications will start getting reviewed for payment after the three-to-five-week period for accepting new applications is over,” OHCS stated in a recent release. “Upon review, applications will be approved for payment or denied, this decision will be made based upon the highest need, not on a first-come-first-served basis.“
According to OHCS, tenants who apply but fail to meet basic income eligibility requirements will receive a written denial and will be held fully liable for paying rent once the notification is received. A notification of approval or denial will also be sent to Landlords, the agency said.
OHCS has partnered with Public Partnerships LLC (PPL) to help speed up application processing.
“Currently, 265 PPL staff are focusing on processing applications,” OHCS stated. “In the past week alone, PPL paid 1,276 applications. This is in addition to the applications processed by LPAs working across the state to finish paying out ERA 1 funds.”
As of the publication time of this article, OHCS and local program administrators are waiting on responses from tenants or landlords for 4,273 applications submitted before Dec. 1, 2021, and have already received 4,635 new applications since the portal reopened in 2022.
OHCS first intends to prioritize pay-outs to eligible applications sent before Dec. 1, 2021, before granting relief for new applicants, following the three-to-five-week review period.
Tenants can apply for the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program at oregonrentalassistance.org.