Faith Ryan | Director | Centre County Government, Office of Adult Services
Since the program opened on Monday, July 6th, 2020, Centre County Government’s Office of Adult Services has been working around the clock, with additional staff, to process the high volume of CARES Rent Relief Program (RRP) applications that have been received by residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Any resident or landlord (on behalf of their tenant) who is interested in learning more or applying for this program should visit www.centrecountypa.gov/rentrelief. The deadline for all new applications is Wednesday, September 30th. After this date, new applications can no longer be accepted.
For Centre County renters to be eligible for financial assistance under the CARES RRP, they will need to document at least a 30% reduction in annual income since March 1st, 2020 OR must have become unemployed after March 1st, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If unemployed, they must have filed for unemployment compensation with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Household income cannot exceed Centre County’s Area Median Income (AMI), adjusted for the number of people in the home. Renters who quality may receive equal to 100% of their monthly rent up to $750/month, for a maximum of 6 months, for the time period between March 1st, 2020 and December 30th, 2020.
For households that may not quality for the CARES RRP, or who submit applications after Wednesday, September 30th, the department will help connect these households to other existing programs. Centre County Government’s Office of Adult Services also administers rental assistance programs that can assist with up to $1,000 (adult-only household) or $1,500 (household with children). These programs typically offer on-time assistance for rent arrears, security deposit, and/or first month’s rent. To be eligible, households must: a) be Centre County residents, b) have an agreement with the landlord/property manager to rent to them, c) be homeless or near-homelessness, d) and have a gross annual income at or below 200% Federal Poverty Level (FPL). These rental assistance programs open on the first business day of each month at 9:00am. Funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The programs will remain open until all allocated funds from the month have been depleted.
Centre County Government’s Office of Adult Services can be reached at: 814-355-6768.
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