INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis reopened its rental assistance program on Monday, processing applications from about 17,000 households currently on the waitlist.
Qualifying households will receive up to three months of rent help which can be used for current expenses, future expenses, back rent or late fees, according to Deputy Mayor Jeff Bennett.
About $33 million is now available for families who've lost income because of COVID-19. Most of the funding comes from the federal CARES Act, passed by Congress in December. A smaller amount was appropriated by the Indianapolis City-County Council.
Bennett said an estimated 30,000 people in Marion County face some sort of housing crisis or eviction.
"We've tried to build a response network to keep up with demand and manage the flow of applications," he said. "We've tried to meet the moment in terms of need to be responsive and to use every source of funding at our disposal to get as must help out the door as we can," Bennett added.
Last year, the city distributed about $34 million in rental assistance.
With a second round of funding, applications that had been on the waiting list are now being processed and the city is accepting new applications to be added.
HOW MUCH HELP IS AVAILABLE?
Up to three months rent.
Assistance may be used for current or future expenses, back rent and late fees.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE?
Households with income at or below 80% of the area median income
HOW ARE APPLICATIONS PROCESSED?
Households with income at or below 50% of the area median income will receive priority along with individuals who've been unemployed for 90 days or longer.
Income must be verified.
The City of Indianapolis will call families whose applications have been processed and approved.
HOW TO APPLY
Click here to fill out an application.