With the CDC Eviction Moratorium set to expire at the end of the month, Orange County, Osceola County, the City of Orlando, and the City of Kissimmee have introduced new rental assistance programs to help vulnerable tenants in our community.
Orange County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, an income-based program aimed at helping tenants who are past-due in rent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, would cover a tenant’s documented past-due rent for the time period beginning on April 1st, 2020 to present, and may provide one month’s future rent. Payments would not exceed 12 months of past-due rent or $20,000 and cannot be combined with any additional rental assistance received by the tenant or landlord. As of July 9th, 2021, a total of 755 applications and $4M in assistance has been approved by the Comptroller’s Office through this program. Only residents of Orange County not living within the city limits of Orlando are eligible for this program. For qualification and how to apply, please visit www.ocfl.net/RentalAssistance.
For residents in Orlando, the city has formed the Rental Assistance Program. Households within the Orlando city limits with incomes below 80% of the area median income are eligible to apply for up to 12 months of unpaid rent. To apply, please visit the City of Orlando website at https://www.orlando.gov/Building-Development/Housing-and-Development-Gr….
Osceola County’s Eviction Prevention Program seeks to assist tenants with up to two months past-due rent. The goal of this program is to bring eligible residents of Osceola County current with their past-due rental balances. If an eligible resident owes more than two months, they must pay the remainder of the delinquent amount before any assistance can be granted. Only residents of Osceola County not living within the city limits of Kissimmee are eligible for this program. For more details on who is eligible for this program please contact rental program staff at 407-742-8414 or rentalhelp@osceola.org.
At this time, the City of Kissimmee no longer has funds available to assist with rental payments, but will continue to post updates to the city’s website as funds become available. For now, Kissimmee residents seeking rental assistance should find out if they qualify for the OUR (Opportunities for Utilities and Rental Assistance) Florida Program, a federally-funded emergency rental assistance relief program that supports residents and businesses as they continue to recover and rebuild. You can find out more about it at www.ourflorida.com.