Emergency Rental & Mortgage Assistance Program

From the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) Emergency Rental & Mortgage Assistance Program:

Emergency Rental Assistance Program

With applications now available, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA) will support Illinois tenants unable to pay their rent due to a COVID-19-related loss of income. Tenants whose applications are approved will receive one-time grants of $5,000 paid directly to their landlords to cover missed rent payments beginning March 2020 and prepay payments through December 2020, or until the $5,000 is exhausted, whichever comes first. The assistance will be in the form of a grant and repayment will not be required. Applications for ERA will be accepted August 10th through August 21st. Due to anticipated high volume, the application window may close early. IHDA will use a third-party entity to select a pool of applications to be reviewed for eligibility. Approximately 30,000 tenants are expected to receive funding. Apply online at: era.ihda.org.

Tenant Eligibility:

Household income before March 1, 2020 was at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income;
An adult member of the household must have had a loss of income due to the COVID-19 crisis on or after March 1, 2020; and
Household has an unpaid rent balance that began on or after March 1, 2020.

Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program

Available August 24, 2020, the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMA) will assist homeowners who have experienced a COVID-19-related loss of income resulting in past due mortgage balances starting March 2020. Approved applicants will receive up to $15,000 paid directly to their mortgage servicer. Assistance will cover the homeowner’s past due or forbearance balance and their regular mortgage payments through December 30, 2020, or until the funding is exhausted, whichever comes first. Payments may include all escrowed first mortgage expenses including property taxes, insurance and certain fees. The assistance will be in the form of a grant and repayment will not be required. Applications for EMA will be accepted from August 24th through September 4th. Due to anticipated high volume, the application window may close early. IHDA will use a third-party entity to select a pool of applications to be reviewed for eligibility. The program is expected to assist approximately 10,000 households. Apply online at: ema.ihda.org.

Homeowner Eligibility:

Household adjusted gross income from 2019 Tax Return was at or below 120 percent of the Area Median Income;
An adult member of the household has had a loss of income due to the COVID-19 crisis on or after March 1, 2020;
Homeowner’s mortgage was current as of February 29, 2020;
The mortgage is past due or in forbearance.

Additional documentation attached to this post.

For more information about the Emergency Rental Assistance Program: https://era.ihda.org/

For more information about the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program: https://era.ihda.org/