Chester County Asks Property Owners To Rent To Ida Victims

WEST CHESTER — Chester County asks property owners with homes for rent to open their doors to the 38 people from 17 households who are still living in a hotel six months after their homes were destroyed by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

The remaining 17 households living in apartments in Exton are from Coatesville, Downingtown, Modena, and West Chester.

Many of the families have county-issued federally funded housing vouchers, which would cover the rent, but the lack of available apartments has kept these families stuck in limbo.

“We’re not asking property owners to take risks here,” Robert Henry, administrator of the Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness Administrator, said.

Henry said the property owners will receive full rent through a combination of the voucher plus 30% of the tenant’s income.

The cost to house people in a hotel is significantly higher than if residents were living in apartments.

The County funds the hotel rooms with the funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Henry said the hotels provide a large room with a microwave for cooking. In their former apartments, the residents had a kitchen and bedrooms.

More affluent residents who had their properties ruined by Ida had the means to find replacement housing more quickly, but those living at the hotel are not as fortunate.

Henry said some of the families living in the hotels have children who are being bused to their school districts from Exton, which means a longer commute than when they lived at their former home.”

Rental property owner or managers who would like to provide to Ida victims, contact Katie Dempsey at [email protected] or call 610-235-4487.