Rental assistance still available from county program, officials say

Dan Wertz, administrator of the McKean County Department of Human Services, explained, “We still have approximately $300,000 available to help renters in our communities. We want to help every eligible household before the money is reallocated somewhere else.”

Applications can be submitted online at https://www.compass.state.pa.us/Compass.Web/RAP/Application.

If a resident does not have a computer to apply online, they may contact the Redevelopment and Housing Authority so that a staff member can help them complete the application over the telephone or in-person. Staff will work with applicants to identify and obtain required documents to support the request for financial assistance.

“So far, the program has assisted a total of 643 households with rental arrears, rental assistance, utility arrears and/ or utility assistance throughout McKean County,” explained Michelle Hatch, housing and homeless services coordinator for the Housing Authority. “The dollar amount of assistance that has been provided to these households is approximately $1.7 million.”

Pennsylvanians can apply for themselves as tenants, or a landlord can apply on behalf of current tenant(s).

A household must be responsible to pay rent on a residential property, and:

• One or more people within the household have qualified for unemployment benefits, had a decrease in income, had increased household costs, or experienced other financial hardship due to, directly or indirectly, the COVID-19 pandemic (ERAP1).
• One or more individuals in the household can show a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and
• The household has an income at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.