Tarrant County re-opens rental assistance funding application process

FORT WORTH, Texas - Tarrant County applications for rental assistance are coming in, again, after a fresh round of funding from the feds.

The latest version of the program provides cash payments on behalf of tenants at least one month behind for not only rent but also utilities.

"With my income being affected, it’s kind of hard for me to actually pay the rent on time," said renter DeSeandre Cain.

Cain, 28, works at a North Texas food distribution warehouse. He says the pandemic has eliminated overtime hours. Cain says he was approved through the county’s initial program at the end of last year, with the exception of December’s payment.

"I paid my January, they paid for November but December was never paid for. That put a big price on my head and kind of stressed me out," Cain said.

Tarrant County re-opened its online application process this week after receiving new federal funding.

"This program we launched on March 29, on Monday has a total of about $24 million," said Kristen Camareno, Tarrant County.

New to this round of help is that landlords can begin the process for their tenants.

"The requirement is they have either have qualified unemployment and they need to show us an unemployment benefit letter or statement or they have been financially hurt by COVID in some other way," Camareno said.

An awareness campaign, including webinars, are planned to get the word out about the county's newly available assistance aimed at helping renters.

"Now I have this big balance, it’s like at least $2,000. The apartments was telling me you have to come up with this balance," Cain said.

MORE INFO: https://www.tarrantcounty.com/en/county/social-services/rental-assistance-application.html