DC Rolls Out Grant Program To Help Those Impacted By Coronavirus

WASHINGTON, DC — District residents facing financial hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to get some relief thanks to $10 million in new Housing Stabilization Grants from the D.C. Government.

"We know that a number of our residents have just been devastated financially and have been unable to pay rent, and that has had a ripple effect on the affordable housing in the city," Mayor Muriel Bowser said, in a Monday afternoon press briefing.

The new Housing Stabilization Grants will provide $10 million in direct assistance to housing providers. The program will also pay 80 percent of delinquent rent if the housing provider waives the remaining 20 percent and any fees. The grants will cover up to $2,000 per month since April.

Those eligible to apply include housing providers in the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the D.C. Housing Finance Agency portfolios. In addition, housing providers with 20 or fewer total rental units that are not in the city's portfolio may also apply for the grants. Providers in the affordable housing portfolio will receive $9 million and $1 million will be provided to other small housing providers.

Applications for the grants, which will open Tuesday and close on Dec. 11, will be assessed on a rolling basis. Since the grants are funded through the CARES Act, all funds will need to be dispersed by Dec. 31.

"The way many of our programs work is that the tenant applies and then the funding goes directly to the housing provider," Bowser said. "This can work to benefit both tenants and housing providers if people know about the programs and apply. But if people aren't applying, then both the tenant and their housing provider are losing out and falling further behind."

The Housing Stabilization Grants are in addition to the following rental assistance programs already in existence to provide funding during the crisis:

COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) provides $6.2 million via a federal Community Development Block Grant Program. Renters can apply online via the Department of Human Services portal, or via these three CHAP providers:

• Housing Counseling Services - 202-667-7339; chap@housingetc.org
• Greater Washington Urban League - 202-524-8175; covidrent@gwul.org United
• Planning Organization - 202-231-7910; housingservices@upo.org

Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) helps low-income residences facing housing emergencies, such as overdue rent or deposits. Schedule an appointment with an ERAP provider specialist at dhs.dc.gov/ERAPapp or contact one of the following community ERAP providers:

• Catholic Charities: 202-338-3100
• Housing Counseling Services: 202-667-7006
• Salvation Army (N.W. location): 202-332-5000
• Salvation Army (S.E. location): 202-678-9701
• Virginia William Family Resource Center: 202-312-5510
• United Planning Organization: 202-562-3800
• The Greater Washington Urban League: 202-265-8200

District residents and housing providers can learn more about these programs by going to coronavirus.dc.gov/rent.

At the beginning of November, DHCD conducted a survey, asking housing providers about how the new coronavirus and the District's health emergency has impacted their businesses and tenants.

More than one-third of the survey respondents with mortgages said they had difficulty paying their mortgage in October. The survey also revealed that the majority of respondents were unaware of the many District programs that were available to help their tenants pay their rent. Rental assistance was the top policy proposal suggested by housing providers as a response to the crisis.

"The goal is to provide financial relief to tenants unable to pay rent and to preserve the District's stock of affordable housing by helping housing providers make their payments," Bowser said. "To protect affordable housing, we need to make sure tenants are able to stay in their units, also make sure that affordable housing providers have the funds they need to repay their own loans so that they don't lose their property."