‘We want people to apply.’ What landlords, tenants need to know about GA rent assistance

The Peach State has almost $1 billion to help Georgians pay their rent, federal money intended to keep folks in their homes and funnel payments to landlords.

Only about $25 million has been been distributed, however, and thousands of Georgians face eviction.

The Telegraph spoke with Daphne Walker, the division director for the Housing Assistance Division at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), to find out everything landlords, tenants and utility companies need to know about the state’s rental assistance program:

How much money does the Georgia Rental Assistance Program have?

Georgia was awarded two allocations of funds from the federal government: $552 million and $437 million.

The U.S. Treasury granted the original funding with the stipulation that a person applying for the program had to prove that being behind on their rent or utilities had been directly or indirectly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the second round of funding, applicants only had to prove they became delinquent on their rent or utilities during the coronavirus pandemic from March 2020 until the present, Walker said.

The GRA program is accepting applications for both allocations of funding and the portal through which people apply determines which allocation they fall under, Walker said.

As of Sept. 21, the DCA had distributed nearly $26 million in assistance for 7,706 applications. Bibb County landlords, tenants and utility companies have received more than $1.6 million in funding.

The deadline to spend the first allocation of money is September 2022, and the deadline for the second allocation is in 2025, Walker said.

With more than $100 million in pending applications, Walker said they do not intend to have additional funds to return to the federal government.

How can people apply?

People can apply online at georgiarentalassistance.ga.gov and upload their documents either by taking photos with their phones or scanning the documents and loading them.

If people do not have access to a computer, they can request a paper application from the DCA. Email rentalassistance@dca.ga.gov or call 833-827-7368 with any questions about applying.

The DCA has partnered with several agencies, including the Georgia Legal Services Program, to help people navigate the process and submit their documents, Walker said. People in the Middle Georgia area can call 2-1-1 to get in touch with an organization that can help them. The number is the United Way of Central Georgia’s hotline.

People need to respond as quickly as possible when DCA requests additional information and documents in order to get the rental assistance in a timely manner.

The DCA tries to work with people who do not have traditional relationships with their landlord — such as not having a normal lease — by allowing self-attestation for a number of the documents they require, she said. They also issue checks to people without a bank account.

“In those instances, we tell people just to produce what you have, and then we’ll have our processors reach out to you to see if in fact, there’s other documentation you can submit to meet that criteria,” she said.

How do you get the money?

The U.S. Treasury requires both the tenant and the landlord to provide information to receive funding, Walker said, and landlords are the ones who are supposed to receive the funding directly.

However, the program is voluntary. If a landlord chooses not to participate, the DCA is allowed to send the money directly to the tenant in order to pay the rent, she said.

Why did DCA open the GRA program up to the entire state?

Originally, the GRA program was open to everyone in the state of Georgia except 12 municipalities and counties: Atlanta, Augusta-Richmond County, Chatham County, Cherokee County, Clayton County, Cobb County, DeKalb County, Forsyth County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Hall County, and Henry County.

Those 12 jurisdictions received their own funding from the U.S. Treasury to start rental assistance programs, and the DCA meets with them every two weeks.

On Aug. 13, the DCA decided to open funding to the entire state, including the 12 jurisdictions.

“There’s collaboration on our part to make sure that we’re just meeting the need, and the need is significant in those larger Metropolitan and high capacity areas,” Walker said.

Tenants and landlords can apply to the individual county or municipality programs or to the GRA program. They can apply to both programs, but they will only receive funds from one, Walker said.

“It’s really simple that the need in Georgia for rental assistance is high for individuals that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we wanted to make sure we could get those resources to them as quickly as possible,” she said.

Why were some people experiencing delays in receiving funding?

When DCA received the funding for rental assistance, the GRA program didn’t exist. They had to build the program, which took them around three months, Walker said.

They had to create the online portal, hire 145 employees to process the applications and find office space.

“I think now we’re definitely at capacity, and we understand what’s needed to get the program off the ground and get it up and running, and we’re working very diligently to get through applications as quickly as possible,” Walker said.

The goal is to turn applications around in 30 days or less to meet the need before the next months rent for tenants, she said.

Who is Macon’s outreach coordinator for DCA?

Macon’s outreach coordinator for the DCA is Cynthia Patterson, and Patterson is also the office director for DCA, which means she oversees 12 other coordinators in the state, Walker said.

DCA hopes the coordinators can also serve as liaisons with the court system to receive dockets and reach out to people facing eviction.

“It is definitely our effort to get boots on the ground where we have individuals in these communities that are available to not only the constituents there, but the court system as well as the nonprofit agencies that are working with citizens,” Walker said. “We know that there are individuals in Bibb County and beyond that require that funding, and we want people to apply.”