Pittsburgh receives another $7 million in federal cash for rental assistance program

A rental assistance program to help tenants pay past due rent and landlords to recover unpaid rent because of the coronavirus pandemic was awarded an additional $7 million in federal funding, Pittsburgh officials announced Monday.

The money will bolster a program started in March that brings together the city, Allegheny County, Action Housing and Dollar Energy. It was initially funded through federal grants of $27 million to the county and $8.9 million to the city.

The new $7 million grant was awarded to the city.

The program helps people pay past-due and future rent, utility bills and other housing expenses that resulted from the covid pandemic. Participants can be helped for a total of 15 months, if needed, to ensure housing stability, the city said.

About 2,200 applications have been paid out since March that total $12 million, Action Housing general counsel Kyle Webster said.

Of that amount, $3 million has been paid in the last two weeks, Webster said and 25% of the approvals have happened since July 4.

About 10,500 applications have been approved since March. Only 68 applications have been denied because the people didn’t qualify.

Eligibility requirements are met if at least one person in a household qualifies for unemployment or has suffered financially because of the covid-19 pandemic and if the household income is below 80% of the median income for Allegheny County. A family of four can be eligible if their income is less than $66,400.

Before applying, a person should have an unemployment determination letter, a copy of their lease agreement, utility bills, tax forms and pay stubs to prove their income, along with Social Security numbers for each person in the household.

“We feel very confident and proud of how its going,” Webster said.

For information about the program, click here.