Evictions allowed again in Horry after COVID-19 stopped them. There’s help if you need it
A statewide moratorium on evictions ended Friday in South Carolina, and a local housing nonprofit is preparing to handle an influx of assistance requests.
South Carolina Chief Justice Donald Beatty ordered a stay on evictions in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic that was originally set to expire May 1, but he extended it to May 15.
In an effort to prevent a rapid increase in homelessness, the federal government gave additional money to local organizations that help prevent evictions by paying off overdue rent, and that organization is Eastern Carolina Housing Organization in Horry County.
With more than 53,000 Horry County residents filing for unemployment benefits during the past two months, ECHO is anticipating a lot of families will face eviction filings once the moratorium is lifted.
Joey Smoak, CEO of ECHO, said they currently have about $500,000 available to help tenants overdue on rent payments, known as their homeless prevention program, for eligible participants in their 13-county service area — Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Kershaw, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Sumter and Williamsburg counties.
The funding is available through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Solutions Grant and for veterans facing eviction through Veteran Affairs’ Supportive Services for Veteran Families grant.
Currently, families are eligible if their annual income is 30 percent or less of the median income, adjusted for family size, in the county they reside, while veterans are eligible if their annual income is 50 percent or less of the median income.
Smoak said ECHO is waiting for up to $1 million in additional funding from the federal government that will increase the eligibility threshold to 50 percent or less of local median income for all applicants.
The median household income in 2020 is $57,400 in the Myrtle Beach area, according to HUD’s calculations, meaning a family’s income could not exceed $17,200 to remain eligible currently.
Smoak added that the federal CARES Act has specified that the extra $600 per week in unemployment benefits many are currently receiving will not count toward that income calculation since it is only temporary income.
Applications for assistance will be available online starting Friday at www.echousing.org/get-help or can be completed over the telephone at 843-213-1798. Applicants will be asked to provide documentation including verification of income and either a Magistrate’s Court Order of Eviction or a letter from their landlord stating the tenant is behind on rent and will be evicted within 14 days.
Smoak emphasized that this funding is meant to help people facing eviction and their landlords, who are also facing economic hardships due to COVID-19.
“Nobody froze mortgage payments,” he said.
Chief Justice Beatty also ordered that property managers adhere to a federal law that stops some evictions until August.
The federal CARES Act prohibits evictions at properties financed by federal mortgages and subsidies until Aug. 24.
A database, published by a Seattle Times reporter based on information from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S. Federal Housing Administration, shows 43 such properties in the Horry County, Myrtle Beach area totaling more than 7,500 housing units. The list is not exhaustive, so some properties not included are also federally protected.
