Arlington Announces Second Round Of Rental Assistance Program

ARLINGTON, MA — The town on Wednesday announced the second round of the Arlington Emergency Tenant Assistance Program. The program provides rental assistance to income-eligible households that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The assistance program is funded through an additional allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds known as CDBG-CV, which were made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Additional information about the programs being offered is available at www.arlingtonma.gov/COVID19Assistance.

The program provides up to $2,000 per eligible household for up to three months – maximum of $6,000 – in a payment made directly to the landlord. To qualify, the household must earn at or below 50 percent of the area median income as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

As new income eligibility requirements were released since the first round of this program, households in need of assistance that were not eligible in the first round should check their eligibility for this round. Additionally, households that received assistance in the first round may apply again, but there is no guarantee that assistance will be granted.

Pre-applications will be accepted starting Sept. 16 and will be open through Sept. 30. Following the close of the pre-application period, a lottery will be held to establish the order in which eligible applicants will be assisted. Applicants will work with the staff in the Department of Planning and Community Development and our administrator, MCO Housing Services, to finalize their application prior to receiving assistance.

"We are thrilled to be able to continue our support of tenants to maintain housing stability during this financially challenging time caused by COVID-19," Director of Planning and Community Development Jennifer Raitt said in a statement. "With the eviction moratorium expiring next month and the loss of the pandemic unemployment assistance, Arlington tenants may be experiencing additional stress. Our collaboration with our administrator was seamless in the first round, and we plan to continue the straight forward process to get assistance to households as quickly as possible."

Additional information about this program, including the new income limits, and the link to the pre-application form is available at www.arlingtonma.gov/COVID19Assistance. Most pre-application materials for the Arlington Emergency Tenant Assistance Program will be provided in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Chinese. Reasonable accommodations and language assistance requests will be provided.

HUD also announced a second CARES Act CDBG-CV award to Arlington. The additional $320,485 will be used to provide temporary financial assistance for households financially impacted by COVID-19 to meet rental obligations for up to 6 months. Residents who need assistance with mortgage payments or other household expenses are encouraged to apply for assistance from the Arlington COVID-19 Relief Fund at www.ahhscc.org.

For additional information, please contact the Arlington Department of Planning and Community Development at 781-316-3091 or [email protected].