Para leer el comunicado de prensa en español, oprima aquí.

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake County and City continue to work together to promote rent and mortgage relief for residents — including families with mixed-immigration status.

Between City, County and State funding allocations, more than $9 million in rental assistance remains available to individuals and families who experienced a documented loss of income or financial hardship related to COVID-19 and whose gross income is at or below 100% area median income.  

“The pandemic continues to take such a toll on our City’s hard-working families, many of whom faced financial struggles well before March,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “We’re trying hard to get these rental assistance dollars into their hands, regardless of immigration status, because we know housing stability is absolutely essential to stable families, neighborhoods, cities and economies.” 

Rent relief has been distributed to those who qualify in the past several months, many of whom did not receive other federal stimulus payouts. Utah Community Action provides emergency rental assistance for households impacted by COVID-19.  Individuals or households seeking assistance should call 801-359-2444.

At a press conference Wednesday, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall encouraged residents to call the hotline to see if they qualify for assistance. Between the County, City, and State there is plenty of funding available to assist individuals in need.  

“Our partners are ready to walk County residents through the process. They’re there to help,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen a surge in evictions in the past month, and they’re concentrated on the westside of the County in West Valley and the westside of Salt Lake City — communities that were also disproportionately impacted by the spread of the virus.” 

The Centers for Disease Control’s partial moratorium on evictions was detailed at the press conference. Tenants protected under the moratorium, which is effective from Sept. 4 through Dec. 31, 2020, cannot be evicted for non-payment of rent, and the tenant must sign a declaration attesting that they meet certain requirements. 

Housing experts stress that the moratorium does not forgive rent. 

• Renters are required to make partial payments for rent if they can. 
• Rent, late fees and penalties can still accrue during the moratorium, and 
• those who have not paid all of the back rent owed when the moratorium ends on January 1, 2021 could be evicted.

“Although the CDC eviction moratorium is in effect, it is our hope and intent that those in need take advantage of the relief funds currently available,” said Sahil Oberoi, Director of Case Management & Housing Services at Utah Community Action. 

Links and other information

Information about the CDC’s eviction moratorium can be found here: https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/CDC-Eng_2-2.pdf

Information about pandemic rent and mortgage relief can be found here: https://jobs.utah.gov/housing/rent-relief/utah.gov/

https://jobs.utah.gov/covid19/rentalassist.pdf

UCA Rental Relief Hotline 801-359-2444 

Or dial 2-1-1

###