March 13, 2022 – An emergency federal rental assistance program administered by Chicago’s Department of Family & Support Services and the city’s Department of Housing, has been so successful that new applications are no longer being accepted.

However, if you are a renter and/or landlord who already applied and provided all the necessary documentation, you still have a shot at obtaining Rent Relief funds in the coming weeks.

“The City of Chicago still has money,” said Sabrina, one of 100 Rent Relief administrators who answer questions about the program at 833-543-0931. “There is no time frame on receiving Rent Relief funds. Our caseworkers are reviewing documents and are trying to process applications as fast as possible. Each caseworker has 150 to 200 applications to audit.”

The American Rescue Plan Act – the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021 – allocated $21.6 billion for assistance to apartment tenants negatively impacted by COVID-19. Funds are provided directly to states, local governments, territories, and Native American tribes to administer to eligible households through rental assistance programs. An eligible household may receive up to 12 months of assistance – plus an additional three months if needed, depending on the availability of funds.

In general, the money is paid directly to landlords and utility providers. If an owner doesn’t want to participate, funds may be paid to the renter.

As of late 2021, the City of Chicago has assisted more than 8,600 households with rent and utility payments through ERAP funds. The average rental assistance payment is $8,900, and the average utility assistance is $800 per applicant.

However, landlords have complained to The Home Front that the Rent Relief program is bogged down in bureaucratic red tape.

One landlady who owns a three-flat in West Ridge on the Far North Side complained that her tenant, a mother of three children, applied for Rent Relief in December 2021 and still hasn’t received a dime.

“Her past due rent totals nearly $8,000, which would have been a big help to me when I paid my property taxes on March 1st,” she said. “We have been following up on her claim to no avail. It simply indicates that it is ‘pending.’”

The landlady contacted 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez’s office and was referred to a helpful, knowledgeable woman who promptly found her tenant’s Rent Relief case number.

“The Rent Relief administrator said the application information was in order,” the landlady said. “Unfortunately, they have been backlogged since April of 2021, processing more than 30,000 applicants. She had no idea when they would catch up, but she said eventually I will receive an email advising me to reply within 48 hours to continue with the claim. They certainly are not making it convenient.”

She advises property owners, particularly “Ma and Pa” owners of smaller properties, that “it is the landlord’s responsibility and necessity to have deep pockets in order to pay their expenses until this government aid comes through. If it ever does.”

The Home Front’s spies at City Hall and the County Building report that since December these buildings appear to be virtually empty. Perhaps city employees are working remotely from home during the pandemic.

“Every department, except the Cook County Treasurer’s office and the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation, is easily eight months behind in their work,” said one veteran newspaper editor. “Productivity has fallen off the table. It must be nice to have job security.”