AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) is administering $1.3 billion in emergency Federal relief funds to help cash-strapped Texans struggling to keep up with rent and utility payments during the pandemic.
The following provides data analysis of the Texas Rent Relief Program to date:
- The program employs more than 1,450 staff, most working 7 days a week to help applicants across all 254 Texas counties.
- Assistance continues to grow with an average of $3.5 million approved per day, with marked increases seen weekly.
- Over $53 million has been paid or is in the process of being paid. The program prioritizes those at risk of eviction
- There were 3,310 eviction diversion applicants approved for approximately $24 million in assistance. This represents 40% of the eviction diversion applicants.
Nearly 4,300 applications are under review or in final review before approval for payment. Of those under review, 50% are missing information or documentation. In these cases, the rent relief team has reached out to the applicant and is awaiting a response.
Tenants can provide eviction information within their application, which will put the application in the priority group. If the landlord files for eviction after the application is submitted, the tenant can call the team at 833-989-7368 to provide their court docket number, precinct number and county of the court information so their application can be prioritized.
Once the Texas Rent Relief begins processing an application for eligibility, the most significant delay is receiving documentation necessary to approve funding.
Currently, just over 96,400 applications submitted, with 90% in initial review, final review, pending payment or paid.
There are approximately 25,000 outstanding requests for missing documentation.
Applicants need to ensure all email and phone contact information is correct, check spam email folders and/or voice messages and respond accordingly as Texas Rent Relief Program staff attempt to finalize applications for approval, the TDHCA said.
TDHCA launched a public dashboard to report on the program’s performance, available at TexasRentRelief.com.
Households must have incomes at or below 80% of the Area Median Income and meet other criteria to qualify for assistance. Area Median Income for the San Angelo MSA for 2021 is approximately $65,500 and 80 percent of that is $54,800, according to HUDUser.com. Full eligibility details at TexasRentRelief.com.
In Tom Green County where San Angelo is, here are the eligibility TDHCA thresholds of 80% of the Area Median Income for the Texas Rent Relief program:
| Household size | 80% of Annual Median Income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $38,400 |
| 2 | $43,850 |
| 3 | $49,350 |
| 4 | $54,800 |
| 5 | $59,200 |
| 6 | $63,600 |
| 7 | $68,000 |
| 8 | $72,350 |
| 9 | $76,700 |
| 10 | $81,100 |
From the table above, a Tom Green County family of four with a household income less than $54,800 is eligible to apply for the program.
RentRelief.com statistics of households assisted and payments provided from April 29, 2021.
The Texas Rent Relief Program can help renters with costs starting as far back as March 13, 2020:
- Past due, current and up to 2 months of expected rent costs.
- Past due, current and up to 2 months of expected utility and home energy expenses.
- After the initial 3 months of forward assistance, you can apply for 3 additional months of assistance if funds are still available.
If you are in need of rent relief, or know someone who is, direct them to the Texas Rent Relief website to apply for assistance.
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