AlaskaHousingRelief.org has pre-registration and eligibility checker
ANCHORAGE – Under the recently passed federal omnibus package, renters in Alaska impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible for up to 12 months of assistance to pay for their rent and/or utilities. The Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) and Cook Inlet Housing Authority (CIHA) announce today their partnership with Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), which will provide a single reference and application portal for Anchorage renters seeking to learn more information and apply for the financial assistance.
Municipal residents are invited to visit
AlaskaHousingRelief.org now to use an eligibility checker and to pre-register to receive notification when applications are accepted. The window to submit applications to AHFC is February 16 at 8:00 a.m. until March 5, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.
“This new federal funding allows us to dramatically expand a program that has already kept more than 7,000 Anchorage families housed since the start of the pandemic," said
Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson. “We are excited to partner with AHFC and CIHA to ensure the process is as simple and streamlined as possible for our community."
The MOA, CIHA, and AHFC received separate federally funded awards that total more than $200 million. Each entity independently recognized the possibility of creating significant confusion among residents if each were to develop their own application and review process, and are partnering to provide residents of the Municipality with a single access point for assistance.
“Our partnership cuts through the red tape, leverages our individual connections and resources but ultimately brings peace of mind to those who have lost income and are seeking help. They now have to look to a single place:
AlaskaHousingRelief.org," said
AHFC CEO/Executive Director Bryan Butcher.
The relief is available to renters who have experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and meet income criteria defined by the federal government, which in the Municipality is an annual income less than $77,840.
Eligibility requirements for spending the money are set by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a condition of the FY2021 Omnibus and COVID Relief and Response Act that was signed into law at the end of 2020.
Under this Alaska Housing Rent Relief program, up to 12 months of financial assistance can be provided to pay rent and/or utility expenses, with the possibility of extended assistance for an additional three months. Payments will be directed to landlords, property managers and utilities. Alaskans who previously received federally-funded housing assistance are eligible to participate in this program. Additional information, including pre-registration, is available by reviewing this
fact sheet, or by calling or texting the word “relief" to (833) 440-0420.
"We know elders, individuals, and families affected by the pandemic are stressed and struggling with rent payments, through no fault of their own. Streamlining this much needed funding, through one clearinghouse, will help get the rental relief money dispersed efficiently and quickly to those in need," said
CIHA President and CEO Carol Gore.
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Media contacts:
Ira Slomski-Pritz, Office of the Mayor, 907-444-5356, ira.slomski-pritz@anchorageak.gov
Stacy Barnes, Director, Governmental Relations and Public Affairs, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, (907) 330-8445/301-4556, sbarnes@ahfc.us
Sezy Gerow-Hanson, Cook Inlet Housing Authority, sghanson@cookinlethousing.org