Indiana rental assistance program ending 2 weeks after eviction moratorium expires
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The state’s $40 million rental assistance program will stop accepting applications at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday despite widespread need for aid during the coronavirus pandemic.
The federally funded program accepted applications for six weeks. It cuts off less than two weeks after the expiration of the statewide eviction moratorium.
The Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition, a group of housing security advocates, issued an action alert urging Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb to create a waitlist before closing the online portal.
Without a waitlist, renters cannot officially document their requests for assistance if an eviction case is filed against them, according to the coalition.
Ending the program without a waitlist also leaves the state with no queue of assistance requests, forcing struggling renters — some who do not have reliable Internet access — to reapply if additional funds become available.
Many Hoosiers with the greatest need — including those facing language barriers or living in news deserts — were less likely to be at the front of the line for the initial round of rental relief funds, tenant advocates said.
“We keep hearing stories about people who had never heard about (the state rental assistance program) until the last minute,” said Andrew Bradley, policy director at Prosperity Indiana and spokesperson for the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition. “Based on the figures we’ve seen, there could be hundreds of thousands of people in need — or who don’t yet know that they’re in need — who won’t be able to get in line once it shuts down.”
The program can serve 20,000 households if it pays out the maximum of $2,000 per eligible household.
More than 250,000 Hoosiers impacted by COVID-19 are estimated to need rental assistance, according to data compiled by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
State officials noted a dip in application volume since the program launched. Bradley’s data showed applications increased in the program’s final week following the end of the eviction moratorium.
He pointed to links between housing security, job stability, education and overall public health.
“Housing is public health,” Bradley said. “Without stable housing, you have families who aren’t able to take care of the other basic necessities.”
A separate rental assistance program for Marion County tenants has approximately 25,000 people on a waitlist. The online application portal was suspended in July after the system was overwhelmed with 10,000 requests in three days.