City leaders are working to ensure that Toledoans struggling to make rent payments because of the coronavirus pandemic are aware there is new financial assistance available.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz last week announced the city will set aside $2 million in emergency federal funding to assist about 700 qualifying households, a proposal Toledo City Council formalized on Tuesday.
The new emergency rental assistance fund will give households up to $2,500 during a consecutive three-month period, officials said. Payments will be made directly to the landlord and may cover rent, past-due rent, late fees, new renter fees, and security deposits. Non-rental payments, including utility deposits and moving costs, will be made directly to the vendor.
Applications will be processed by NeighborWorks Toledo and Lutheran Social Services of Northwest Ohio, in partnership with the city.
City council members said they support the effort because they see the need in the community, but several wanted to ensure the program is accessible to all.
In a letter sent Monday to Mr. Kapszukiewicz, Chief of Staff Katy Crosby, and Department of Neighborhoods Director Rosalyn Clemens, council members Nick Komives, Sam Melden, and Theresa Gadus asked the administration to make a few changes.
They asked for the application to be made available in languages other than in English, and they urged the administration to distribute paper applications as well, since many residents don’t have access to the Internet and libraries are closed because of the pandemic.
“We’re very excited that the city has brought this, we just want to make sure that it is accessible for as many people in our city as possible, that no matter what your ability, what your language, what you situation is, that you are able to utilize this money,” Ms. Gadus said.
Ms. Clemens said Tuesday the program application, flyer, and social media posts are being translated into Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. She said accommodations for renters with disabilities also are available.
Distributing paper applications is challenging because of the pandemic, but she intends to enlist the help of area churches and community groups to get the word out.
“We’re really trying to help people that are most in need and as a result of the COVID,” Ms. Clemens said. “For those folks who have sort of fallen through the cracks because they haven’t been able to get assistance anywhere else, we’re hoping to help them with this program.”
The three councilmen also asked the administration to remove questions about evictions and tenants’ criminal histories from the application.
Ms. Clemens said they got rid of the criminal history question because it shouldn’t factor into whether or not someone receives assistance. She also pointed out that the only question on the application regarding evictions was whether the applicant was currently facing one.
Mr. Melden said he was particularly concerned to learn from Toledo’s Fair Housing Center that they are fielding complaints from renters whose landlords have cut off utilities to force them to vacate. If a landlord has engaged in that illegal practice, he doesn’t want them to receive the assistance.
“That is a pretty crafty and wicked way to get someone to leave the property that you own,” Mr. Melden said. “To me, even the possibility that someone could do that is so offensive to me, that I want to shut it down completely.”
Landlords who benefit from the city’s assistance program will be required to dismiss all pending evictions and will be prohibited from initiating eviction proceedings while receiving payments, officials said.
Mr. Melden said he was pleased the administration responded to city council’s concerns quickly, and he is glad the city will be able to quickly get emergency funding into citizens’ hands.
Toledo City Council on Tuesday accepted about $4.45 million in additional Community Development Block Grant funding and $2.25 million in additional Emergency Solutions Grant funding, distributed by the federal government to help municipalities weather the coronavirus pandemic.
Toledo officials plan to use $1 million from each fund, so $2 million total, to provide the emergency assistance.
In order to qualify for the assistance, a renter must live in the city of Toledo and have a valid lease, demonstrate a loss of income because of the coronavirus pandemic, and have a maximum household income at or below 80 percent of the area median income.
Renters who live in public housing or receive government housing subsidies are not eligible, nor are those who owe rent payments from before April 1.
Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, and Ms. Clemens said there is already high interest.
NeighborWorks has sent out more than 620 applications and received 40 completed applications, she said. Lutheran Social Services has received more than 100 completed applications and processed 300 inquiries.
There is at this point no deadline to apply, but officials may set one if they receive an influx of qualifying households.
“We will pivot if we see the money is not enough,” Ms. Clemens said. “Housing stability is a priority.”
First Published June 2, 2020, 10:24 p.m.
