Following concerns the statewide COVID-19 rent relief program was not reaching Southeast Tennessee, the director overseeing the program said assistance is coming as the agency verifies the approximately 20,000 applications it received so far.
Ralph Perrey, executive director of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, said it takes around four weeks to verify eligibility on an application.
The federal grant requires the agency to prioritize people with eviction notices, unemployment for 90 days or more or those who make less than 50% of the area median income, Perrey said, so the program is not “first come, first served,” and that is causing some slowdown.
“It’s good to have this assistance for people who need it, but the federal program does come with requirements. We can’t just take your word for it,” Perrey said. “Unfortunately, that makes the application a little more complicated than it would be in an ideal world.”
The second coronavirus relief bill, passed in December 2020, provided the U.S. Department of the Treasury with $25 billion to help households pay rent or utilities. Cities or counties with more than 200,000 people as of 2019 were eligible to receive funds for their residents.