COVID-19 has put rent and mortgage payments on hold, but eventually the bill will come due.
And Citrus County Housing Services has help in the form of federally funded financial assistance, but officials are urging participants to apply now instead of waiting.
The county has $440,000 in CARES Act funds to help residents whose jobs were lost or scaled back due to the pandemic. The grants, which do not have to be repaid, are to avoid eviction or foreclosure.
While its residents apply for the grant funds, payments are made directly to landlords and mortgage companies.
Gov. Ron DeSantis extended through Oct. 1 a moratorium on court-ordered foreclosure and evictions. While that may help those caught in the pandemic quagmire for now, residents may face thousands of dollars in unpaid housing bills when the moratorium is lifted.
“You are paying every dime you missed,” Citrus County Housing Director Tammy Harris said. “People don’t realize they have to pay all that back.”
Harris said affected residents should apply for help now instead of waiting until the moratorium lifts because the funds are allocated on a first-come, first qualfiied basis.
Plus, she said, while the eviction moratorium helps tenants, it leaves landlords with costs and no income. The CARES Act funding for businesses does not cover landlords, she said.
“Landlords and property owners are business people too,” she said.
Applicants must show proof of need in the form of an eviction letter from a landlord or a past due bill from a mortgage company, and show that they lost their job or had hours reduced due to COVID-19. A letter from the employer, or a self-disclosure if self-employed, will work, she said.
Also, because the funds are associated with the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, there are income limits. A family of four can have an annual income of $67,060 to be eligible, Harris said.
The housing office also has $420,000 in CARES Act funds to help pay electric bills. Qualified residents may receive up to $2,000 in energy assistance grants.
“We recently helped a family that was on a generator for four months,” Harris said.
Call the Citrus County Housing Services at 352-527-7520 to receive an application; it’s also available on the county website, www.citrusbocc.com, click on Housing Services.
The county must spend its CARES Act funds by Dec. 30.
