Hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents say they have little or no confidence they’ll be able to pay next month’s rent. That’s at the same time as the U.S. Supreme court struck down the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's eviction moratorium. What does it mean?
Connecticut renters don’t have to worry about losing their homes tomorrow.
They have at least a month to apply for funding through Unite CT to help pay back rent.
“We are in a housing crisis. It’s really bad,” Helen McAlinden, president and CEO of Homes with Hope in Westport, said.
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According to the federal government, 45,000 Connecticut residents were not caught up on rent as of August 16, while 157,000 had little or no confidence in their ability to pay rent next month.
They are racing against the clock.
“You can count me in as a supporter of us going back into a special session to address this funding need because it's going to be critical and continual,” Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, said.
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Unite CT, which distributes the funds, was created through an executive order.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive powers run out on September 30.
Until then renters and landlords must apply to Unite CT for funding before an eviction.
“We have to have the tenant and the landlord working together to complete it,” Dawn Parker, director of Unite CT, said.
“We can help them with up to $15,000 or 12 months of housing support,” Parker added.
John Souza, president of the Coalition of Connecticut Property Owners, said the Unite CT program has improved.
“Landlords don’t want to put people out. That’s our last resort but at some point we have bills to pay too,” Souza said.
“We’ve given out $69 million in Connecticut ...We give out $1 to $1.5 million per day,” Parker said.
The Department of Housing has its own deadlines to meet. It must obligate 65% of the funds by the end of September.
