SC renters affected by coronavirus could get $1,500 from state’s housing authority
Renters who lost jobs and income because of the coronavirus and got behind on rent could have some relief.
The South Carolina Housing Finance and Development Authority launched a program Wednesday to provide rental payments for tenants affected by the COVID-19.
The program will provide up to $1,500 to renters whose employment or income was impacted by the coronavirus. To qualify, renters must make below 80% of the average median income of the county they live in along with other qualifications.
“This is the most ambitious piece of aid that’s come out of the housing authority in a decade,” said state Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, D-North Charleston.
Pendarvis started searching for ways to help renters after South Carolina’s chief justice issued a stay on evictions as the coronavirus outbreak began in March.
As the virus slowed the economy, jobs typically worked by renters in the service industry and other sectors were lost. Pendarvis hoped that part of state’s budget surplus could be put toward financial assistance for renters.
It became apparent that his colleagues in the State House “didn’t have the appetite” to give money to tenants or create legislation that would provide rent assistance, Pendarvis said.
He recognized in other parts of the country that state agencies which dealt with housing were stepping up to assist renters. He began working with South Carolina’s housing authority to form a plan.
Pendarvis and the housing authority didn’t know if the agency could legally create a program that would give money directly to renters. After consulting with the Attorney General, the agency was given the green light to create such a program.
The state’s housing authority allocated $5 million toward the rental assistance program.
The authority had $5 million in an emergency fund that could only be distributed for assistance in a natural or man-made disaster, according to spokesperson Clayton Ingram. During the first week of May, the authority’s board changed when the emergency fund could be used to include during a public health emergency.
The money comes from bonds sold by the authority, not taxpayers, Ingram said.
“The program will provide emergency housing assistance on behalf of renters affected by shutdowns, closures, layoffs, reduced work hours or unpaid leave,” the authority said in a statement.
The assistance program is administer by the statewide non-profit SC Thrive, an organization that helps people with food, housing, health care and other needs. Renters seeking assistance should apply through SC Thrive, which ensures they meet the qualifications.
The money does not go directly to a renter but is paid to property managers in the tenant’s name.
Beyond keeping tenants’ housed, the rental assistance is a way to help jump-start the economy, Pendarvis believes.
Helping renters stay in their homes will allow them to focus on starting their jobs back. The assistance also helps landlords, who will recoup at least some of the money they lost in missed rent payments, Pendarvis said. Tenants and landlords having more stability allows them to start back their normal economic activity.
“The biggest way that we get past this pandemic and truly recover is by investment in areas that have long been neglected before the virus — areas like housing,” Pendarvis said. “When we do that we will start to see a slow recovery, but a recovery nonetheless.”
A stay on evictions in South Carolina ended May 15 but nearly a third of renters in the state may still be protected from eviction by federal law, according to housing attorneys.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 10:23 AM with the headline "SC renters affected by coronavirus could get $1,500 from state’s housing authority."