There are all sorts of reasons that people may need help with their rent, and there are a wide variety of state and federal programs that provide rental assistance. For anyone living in South Florida, the following rent assistance may be available to help Floridians in need of financial support to make their rent payment and avoid eviction.
Rent Assistance, Eviction, and Lease Agreements
If you are a tenant threatened with eviction, it’s vital not only to know your legal rights under the lease agreement and Florida landlord-tenant law.
One way that a tenants’ rights attorney can help you in these situations is to assist you with finding rent assistance while dealing with possible claims and defenses you may have against your landlord.
Rent assistance will not void or waive your legal rights against your landlord. These programs exist to help Floridians in need outside of the lease itself. For more on tenant’s rights and claims, see:
- Landlord Tenant Disputes After A Major Storm (Hurricane)
- Local Ordinances: Florida Landlords and Tenants
- 6 Tenant Rights That All Florida Tenants and Landlords Need to Know
What is Rent Assistance?
Essentially, rent assistance is getting financial aid or support to pay your rent when you are facing a life crisis of some sort.
Rent assistance can mean calling your parents or grandparents for help after you’ve lost your job and are facing delinquency notices from your landlord. It can also mean applying for help with the government or a private organization for help making the rent payment (or paying back rent).
At the federal, state, and local levels there are all sorts of programs available for individuals who dealing with financial emergencies. Many tenants have been spared from an eviction from their home because of these programs.
Of course, many assume that “rent assistance” means helping the disadvantaged or low-income citizens in our communities. That’s true. However, there are those at all sorts of income levels who may need immediate rental assistance when facing sudden calamities, like fires or flooding or hurricane winds that have created a temporary life crisis.
Why Get Rent Assistance?
Why not just move someplace else if you are having problems with the landlord or if you are having trouble making the rent? For some, there is no place else to go. For others, they are fighting legal claims against the landlord who has violated their legal rights as a tenant. He may be looking for excuses to evict the tenant as a defense to the tenant’s claims against him.
Tenants who need rent assistance are simply those Floridians who need to remain in their rental home for some period of time and are threatened with eviction if they do not come up with their rental payment.
For more on evictions, see:
After Hurricane Irma, many Florida residents were forced out of their homes until debris could be cleared and homes repaired. This meant moving in with family or friends, or renting a temporary home.
1. Temporary Help in Getting Rent Paid
Rent assistance comes in two forms: temporary housing needs and permanent budgetary support to meet rent payments. For Floridians, here are three examples of programs that can help with short-term rental payment needs:
Disaster Relief: Rent Assistance after Homes Are Unlivable
After Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, people who had never considered rent assistance were asking the question, “How can I get some help paying my rent this month?” Roads were closed; power was out; property damage was catastrophic. Remember all that sand that covered the streets here?
Countless Floridians were forced to rent temporary places to live while they cleared the debris from their homes and made repairs. The standard federal support provides two months of rent payments as part of the national disaster relief package provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Sixty days may not be long enough to get things back where they belong, of course. So, there is an additional federal program that gives up to 18 months rental assistance to those who qualify for the program.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has millions of dollars set aside in its annual budget to provide up to 18 months of rental assistance to those who working to fix a disaster-damaged home.
Both homeowners and renters can apply for FEMA rent assistance. The applicant applies for “re-certification” with FEMA after initially receiving the standard 60 days rent support.
These are federal grants, not loans. The federal government does not ask for the money to be paid back once the tenant has completed repairs to his home and moved back there and out of the temporary rental residence.
Getting FEMA support was a blessing for many dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma here in South Florida. Rental units were in short supply, and landlords were more than happy to serve eviction notices for late rent, because they knew they would be able to re-lease their rentals without delay. Having emergency rent assistance helped families stay in their temporary housing until they could move back into their hurricane-damaged homes.
It’s not just the federal government that helps here. There are also state and county programs to help with disaster relief rent needs.
For instance, those living in Miami-Dade County and dealing with the aftermath of a disaster can apply to the county’s Emergency Food and Shelter Assistance (EFSA) to get help in the short-term with rental expenses.
2. Veterans Administration
Federal grants are also available to help veterans meet temporary rent needs. This is overseen by the Veterans Affairs’ Supportive Housing Program. Rent assistance for veterans under this federal program can help both with monthly rental payments as well as security deposits.
3. County Non-Profit Emergency Help
Several organizations work to help South Floridians who have emergency needs to make their rent payment or face eviction. These non-profit organizations can provide emergency financial help for those living in Broward, Palm Beach, or Dade Counties that need assistance with making their rent payment.
The EASE Foundation provides help to those in a short-term financial crisis living in Broward County (Davie, Cooper City) and who are employed with income sufficient to meet their monthly expenses.
A similar emergency rent assistance program for residents in either Broward or Palm Beach Counties is operated through the Gateway Community Outreach organization.
Hope South Florida works with those living in Broward County (including Fort Lauderdale), where emergency rent needs are met with rent subsidies as well as financial assistance to pay back rent.
Long Term Rent Assistance
There are also a lot of government programs to help people pay their rent. These are not temporary grants of a few months’ rent. These are programs that help tenants find and stay in their rental home in the long term.
In Florida, these programs include:
1. Elder Care and Senior Support
The federal government as well as the State of Florida offer rental assistance to senior citizens who are living on a limited monthly income. The applicant must be 62 years old at a minimum. They must have a gross yearly income that does not exceed the “lower income limit” for the location where they want to rent.
For the “lower income limits” for South Florida’s elderly (Section 202), go here to review the 2017 annual limits published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
2. Americans with Disabilities
Another federal program provides long-term rental support for Americans living with disabilities. Under Section 811, an individual with disabilities is provided rental assistance via state housing agencies. These are Florida agencies in partnership with HUD who allocate rental assistance to projects funded by tax credits, HOME funds, or other sources.
These applicants must meet similar income limits as elderly applicants under Section 202.
How a Florida Real Estate Lawyer Can Help Tenants Facing Eviction
If you have been threatened with eviction from your apartment, condo, townhouse, or rental home, then you may have a claim for damages against your Florida landlord as well as the property management company if there’s an agent involved. Landlords will be anxious to find ways to evict a tenant if the tenant has voice complaints or concerns about the property or the terms of the lease.
Failure to timely pay a rent payment is a big reason for evicting a tenant, from the landlord’s perspective. It’s important for tenants to know their rental rights under Florida law. This includes being aware of avenues providing rent assistance to Floridians in special circumstances, which include the aftermath of natural disasters like hurricanes, fires, and floods.
Getting help from an experienced Florida tenant lawyer is important to learn about your legal rights. Most tenants’ rights lawyers, like Larry Tolchinsky, will offer a free initial consultation to answer your questions.
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