A community meeting is set for Thursday in Milan for Illinois residents who need rental assistance.
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has announced applications are now being taken for the second round of the Illinois Rental Payment Program (IRPP). That program offers $297 million to renters and landlords in an effort to prevent evictions
The public meeting, scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday at Camden Centre, 2701 First St., will present information on how to apply for funding. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 9 at illinoishousinghelp.org.
Tenant eligibility requirements include:
- Household lives in Illinois and rents a home as their primary residence.
- Household must have experienced a financial hardship directly or indirectly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Household income is below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), adjusted for household size.Â
- Household must have an unpaid rent balance.
- Proof of citizenship is not required. Rental assistance is not a “public charge” benefit.
- Tenants residing in state- or federally-subsidized housing are eligible to apply.
Project NOW also has $1.4 million of COVID-19 relief monies to help struggling renters. Executive Director Dwight Ford said renter and landlords must work together to tap into the dollars available. Contact Project NOW at 309-793-6391 for assistance with either the state or Project NOW’s program.Â
In the initial application round, IHDA approved more than 62,400 applications and paid out $571 million on behalf of renters experiencing pandemic-related hardships. Approximately 55% of the approved applications assisted households who had been unemployed for more than 90 days, and 87% of approvals assisted very-low-income households to keep vulnerable tenants in their homes. The program provided an average of $9,152 per household.
For more information or program updates, visit illinoishousinghelp.org.
