City of Austin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release Date:
Contact: Jeff Patterson     512-974-3172    Email

City of Austin RENT Assistance Program Progress Dashboard Now Live

Since the late August launch of the second Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) Program, the City of Austin has provided nearly $850,000 in total rent support to over 750 low-income households which are unable to pay rent and experienced a COVID-19 related income loss. 

The RENT Program Progress Dashboard is now live, tracking progress and reporting data on how funds are being distributed by the RENT Assistance Program. The dashboard provides aggregate data on the distribution of rent assistance to households served including the total amount and median amount of rent assistance, median family incomes, household size, number of children, geographic distribution of assisted households, and the race/ethnicity, sex, veteran status, occupations and disability status of the head of household.

Recently, a number of local non-profit organizations were selected through a Request for Applications process managed by the City of Austin’s Housing and Planning Department and the Equity Office to award grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 to promote the RENT program and assist renters in applying for support.  These grants, totaling $400,000, will support these community-based organizations in engaging Austinites facing ongoing financial hardship due to COVID-19. 

The RENT Assistance Program outreach  focuses on households impacted by COVID-19, specifically:

  • Low-income residents in zip codes with high rates of COVID-19
  • African American/Black and Latinx(a/o)
  • Large households or families with children
  • People with disabilities
  • Veterans
  • People with Limited English Proficiency

These community-based organizations will be partnering with the City in the coming weeks as RENT program outreach activities ramp up.

The City of Austin and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) launched the Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) Program in August of 2020, a $17.75 million program providing $12.9 million in direct rent support for income-eligible Austin renters who experienced a COVID-19-related income loss.  Payments are issued directly to the property owner/manager in the full amount of the contracted rent for up to three months depending on the applicant's income and demonstrated need.

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