Kristin Faust

SPRINGFIELD — Illinoisans suffering economic decline due to COVID now have an extra week to apply for emergency rental assistance.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday, Aug. 18 that the Illinois Housing Development Authority, or IHDA, extended the deadline for Illinois renters to apply for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program until noon Friday, Aug. 28.

According to a news release from the IHDA, the deadline was extended due to powerful storms that battered residents in northern Illinois last week.

“With over 750,000 Illinoisans losing power as a result of the strong derecho that swept across northern Illinois a week ago, it’s important we provide additional time to file and complete application for assistance,” IHDA Executive Director Kristin Faust said in the news release. “I am pleased to extend the deadline as there were many renters and landlords without power for nearly a week, which negatively impacted their ability to apply to the Emergency Rental Assistance program.”

For an application to be considered complete, landlords must also submit documents on behalf of the renter, which are due Aug. 30.

Tenants who are approved for emergency rental assistance will receive a one-time grant of $5,000, paid directly to their landlords. That grant covers rent payments missed beginning in March and prepayment of rent bills through December, or until the $5,000 is exhausted, whichever comes first. The grant will not have to be repaid.

A similar initiative, called the Emergency Mortgage Assistance program, is set to launch on Aug. 24 and will not be affected by the extension of rental assistance, according to IHDA’s release.

Applications for both rental and mortgage assistance can be filed online at https://era.ihda.org/.

Each program is receiving $150 million in federal CARES Act funding.

IHDA expects about 30,000 tenants to receive funding. When announcing the programs earlier this month, Pritzker acknowledged it would not be enough to reach everyone impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and that he would work on securing more federal assistance for Illinoisans.

rtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com