This is how this organization helps tenants who cannot pay their rent to apply for a new state aid.
“We have not worked for months and we are afraid of not paying the rent. For the owner to take us out of the apartment and the situation is very difficult, ”said tenant Susana Quiroz Reyes.
Governor Cuomo recently announced a rent relief program o ‘COVID Rent Relief Program‘for those who have been economically affected by the coronavirus.
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Those eligible will receive a single rental subsidy and the application window is short. It ends on July 30 and some activists have already warned that it will only temporarily relieve about 30 thousand tenants of the million who need it throughout the state.
“It’s not that they are going to pay you all the rent, they pay you all the rent if you have no income, if you lost your job and generated zero income,” explained Iván Contreras, from Woodside on the Move.
To qualify for the program, you must not exceed 80 percent of the area’s median income, depending on the family unit.
For example, someone from Queens cannot exceed $ 64,000 per year and a family of four cannot exceed $ 100,000.
In addition, you must have allocated more than 30 percent of the income to rent and show that you have lost purchasing power due to the pandemic since March. Immigration status does not matter as long as …
“… it has to have at least one person in the home it has to be a citizen, resident, refugee or have political asylum,” added Contreras
This includes citizens or children with immigration status.
Identification, proof of income for all household members and the rental agreement must be presented. If there is no contract, you can write a letter in Spanish explaining how many years you have lived in that house and how much you pay rent.
“If it is an economic aid so that it reaches the owner, so that he does not charge us or get us to take out we are happy, I hope in God that I do qualify,” said Quiroz Reyes.
For those who need help applying for this benefit, they can call the COVID Rent Relief Program center at 1-833-499-0318.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigration Affairs posted a message on social media with a link to a page with information in Spanish about the program and its requirements.
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