Durham to give out $9.6 million in rent relief but county needs more, official says
Renters in Durham County can start applying for the county’s $9.6 million COVID-19 rent relief program starting Monday, but the county needs more to make up for lost income due to the pandemic, a county official said.
Ben Rose, director of the Durham County Department of Social Services, said the estimated need for rent relief due to the pandemic in Durham County is $40 million.
“We have to be honest. It’s going to be a race,” Rose told The News & Observer. “It will definitely not be covered nearly to need. Durham had a housing crisis before the pandemic, and it’s been made even worse with the pandemic.”
As of 2019, 49% of renter households in Durham County were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their household income on rent and utilities, according to the N.C. Housing Coalition.
The $9.6 million program, a partnership between Durham County and the City of Durham, is funded through federal COVID stimulus money from December. Since both the city and county met the population threshold, they were able to apply for direct allocation, instead of going through the state.
Rose said the county expects to get another $9 million from the December stimulus, but that money is tied up in the state.
The December stimulus allocated $700 million in rent relief to North Carolina. While some went directly to populous municipalities like Durham, about $550 million went directly to the state for allocation.
As of Friday, none of that amount has been allocated.
Laura Hogshead, chief operation officer of the state Office of Recovery and Resiliency, or NCORR, told The N&O in March the delay is due to state legislation restricting how NCORR can allocate the aid.
NCORR operates the Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions program. The HOPE program at one time offered rent relief statewide from federal funding, but it ran out of money in November and hasn’t accepted applications since.
Eviction moratorium ending
The American Rescue Plan, additional federal stimulus signed by President Joe Biden in March, allocated another $21 billion in rent relief nationwide.
But Rose said that the U.S. Treasury hasn’t announced state and municipality allocations and he doesn’t expect that aid to be ready for another few months.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationwide eviction moratorium expires June 30. Without adequate rental assistance, housing advocates expect a wave of evictions after the moratorium ends.
Rose said he would like to see that extended for at least another 90 days to give time for more rental aid to disbursed.
“I understand landlords are in a pinch. I totally get that, but it would be nice if it can be extended,” Rose said. “While we’re seeing the economy bounce back, especially in Durham ... I still don’t think we’re quite there yet.”
A federal court in Washington D.C. on Wednesday ruled that the CDC lacks the authority to enforce such a wide-reaching moratorium, but the Department of Justice has appealed.
And the ruling doesn’t affect enforcement of the CDC order in North Carolina, The N&O reported earlier this week.
How to apply for Durham rental aid
Durham renters can start applying for aid at 12:01 p.m. Monday by visiting DurhamERAP.dconc.gov. (The online URL will go live on Monday, officials said.)
To qualify, applicants must make 80% or below of the area median income in Durham, but Rose said the program would prioritize those at 50% or below due to guidelines from the federal government.
The median household income in Durham is about $59,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Rose said applicants can verify their income either through their 2020 tax return or through a recent check stub.
Applicants must also have qualified for unemployment, had their income reduced, or incurred a significant financial cost due to the pandemic.
Rose said the goal of the program is to have rental aid to those accepted within 14 days.
For those without internet, Durham is working with five community partners to meet that need: El Centro Hispano; Community Action Advocacy Restoration and Empowerment or CAARE; Centre for Home Ownership; Community Empowerment Fund; and The Church World Service.
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