Rental Assistance Resources
It can be a confusing time now that COVID rental protections have ended.
While 995 HOPE does not directly administer rental assistance programs or offer financial support to renters, we suggest people use the following resources to research rental assistance options.
- Find rental assistance programs in your state.
https://www.hud.gov/states - U.S. Treasury directory of rental assistance by state, county
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments - HUD directory of resources.
https://www.hud.gov/coronavirus/resources_for_renters - Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) renter and utility assistance look up directory
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-housing-assistance/renter-protections/find-help-with-rent-and-utilities/
Housing Counseling
Housing counseling from 995HOPE can help you manage unexpected circumstances, including lost or reduced monthly income, which causes changes in our ability to keep up with rent.
Housing counseling can be helpful to get a handle on your options when prioritizing monthly rent against other bills.
Our certified HUD counselors are ready to help you:
- Know where and how to apply for help and assistance
- Help create or facilitate communications with your landlord or property manager
- Explore options to take in the face of financial hardship
- Develop a plan for action that addresses your full financial picture
As people look to move past the recent challenges of the pandemic, noted below is a recent 995 HOPE rental counseling success story.
Susan’s Situation:
Susan experienced a pay cut as a result of COVID-19. This unexpected income loss made it more difficult for Susan and her family to meet already challenging financial obligations each month. With the monthly income loss, making rent payments was now in jeopardy and causing the household undue stress. Susan felt she had to choose between making payments on her credit cards and making rent payments. Compounding the situation was a rent-to-own arrangement with their landlord, so the priority was to keep those monthly housing payments up to support their long-term financial goals and dreams.
Counseling Services Provided to Susan:
Susan sought housing counseling to understand her options to manage rent and monthly expenses including excessive credit card debt incurred to help offset income losses. The 995 HOPE housing counselor looked at her entire financial picture to develop an actionable budget so she could handle not only the debt payments, but also monthly housing costs for the rent-to-own obligations. Through the housing counselor’s guidance, Susan had a plan to reduce monthly credit card payments to make them more affordable while keeping current with monthly rent-to-own payments.
Housing counseling services helped Susan understand the exact steps to take to balance all her monthly financial obligations, even with the income loss caused because of the pandemic.
Housing Counseling Success Story
Susan got the advice and an action plan she needed to get on track to pay off debt, keep current with housing costs, and build a healthy financial life.
She is under less stress and on firmer financial footing, which lets her pay debt off faster, save money on fees and interest, and make progress toward financial goals such as keeping current with her rent-to-own home loan.
Success is Possible
In this example and hundreds of others, 995 HOPE housing counseling helps people understand the importance of paying for essentials and balancing housing costs with credit card debt and unanticipated hardships.
You don’t have to face this time of challenge alone. It all starts with a conversation.
