Burlington County Applies For $13M In Federal Rental Assistance

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Burlington County is asking the federal government for an additional $13 million for rental assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic.

County officials announced on Thursday that they have submitted the application to the U.S. Department of Treasury for the funding for a soon-to-launch rental assistance program.

“Throughout 2020, we made it our county’s mission to help our residents and small businesses survive the pandemic,” Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson said. “We’re proud of the assistance we’ve delivered and look forward to a brighter 2021, but we know that the challenges will continue. We will do everything we possibly can to seek funding for programs for our residents and businesses.”

The latest federal coronavirus relief package, approved last month, included $25 billion in rental assistance. States, territories and local governments with populations of more than 200,000 people are eligible to apply for a direct share of the aid to help residents struggling to cover rent, as well as landlords impacted by losses of revenue.

It is expected that tenants and landlords will be able to apply for up to 15 months of assistance, according to guidelines set forth by the Department of Treasury. Funding will go directly to the landlords, unless they decide not to participate, officials said.

To qualify for assistance, households must include at least one person who is eligible for unemployment insurance or who has lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic and is at risk of becoming homeless or housing insecure.

Eligibility will also be limited to households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income, though those with incomes below 50 percent will receive priority, officials said.
While it isn’t clear how much Burlington County can expect to receive, officials said early estimates put the early sum at at least $13 million.

“We have been assisting residents through our Housing Hub since the beginning of COVID-19, but there is still a huge need for this funding program,” Hopson said. “We would like to get our county program up and running as soon as possible to get this assistance out to those in most need.”

The county will also issue a request for proposals for providers interested in administering a rental assistance program with $930,000 in Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) response funding awarded by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.

It is also applying to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to devote a share of $2.4 million in federal funding to expand the available CDBG-CV response assistance even further with an upcoming bid process. Information will be posted on the county website when the funding is finalized.

The federal government has imposed an eviction moratorium through Jan. 31, and Gov. Phil Murphy signed an Executive Order suspending them during the current health emergency. However, once the federal moratorium expires and the New Jersey emergency declaration is lifted, eviction proceedings will be able to move forward.

Already more than 3,000 landlords in Burlington County have made filings in Superior Court to begin eviction proceedings once the moratoriums are lifted, according to officials.

“That’s 3,000 Burlington County families ending up displaced and on the streets. The impact would be catastrophic,” said Hopson, who is the board’s liaison to the Department of Human Services. “We’re acting now to try to prevent this looming crisis and keep as many of our residents safe and in their homes.”

Burlington County already has a Housing Hub at the Burlington County Human Services Building in Westampton to provide a single location for homeless or other residents who are housing insecure or experiencing hardships to come for services from several agencies and programs.

A total of 1,066 households received help from the Hub in 2020, including 213 recipients of rental and mortgage assistance that allowed them to remain secure and safe in their homes, according to officials.

Close to 1,500 insecure households also received help from the County’s Rapid Rehousing Initiative, which provides subsidies to families to allow them to remain in or enter permanent housing, officials said.

“Our hub has a tremendous record of success since it launched, but it only shows how great the need is,” Hopson said. “That’s why we’re pushing so hard to give out more aid in 2021.”

Burlington County was one of 12 counties in the state that did not get direct funding from the CARES Act, because the county’s population was below a 500,000 threshold. While the Murphy administration did provide Burlington County with a share of the state’s funding, the other eight counties who received direct federal dollars received tens of millions of dollars to provide aid to renters and businesses. The county has worked diligently to seek other sources of funding to provide similar assistance, officials said.