CHICAGO – Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority announced that the Illinois Rental Payment Program has paid out $70 million to landlords on tenants’ behalf in 87 counties as the Authority reviews the nearly 70,000 applications it has received for rental assistance. An additional $17 million has been approved and is in the process of being paid out with hundreds of millions of additional dollars expected to be sent out the door in the coming weeks in response to applications totaling $664 million in requests for assistance for past due and future rent payments. IHDA is continuing to review applications as quickly as possible and is prioritizing requests for tenants who are unemployed and those with very-low household incomes.
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To further assist renters affected by the pandemic, tenants will be able to apply for ILRPP assistance directly and invite their landlord to participate in the program beginning June 28. Tenants will also be provided a pathway to complete their application should they have unresponsive landlords.
Tenants will have until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 18 to complete their portion of the application at ILRPP.IHDA.org.
“Even before the pandemic, over 70 percent of extremely low-income families in Illinois were dedicating more than half of their income to rent. Then in the face of the pandemic, many suddenly found they were being laid off, or their workplace was permanently closing, or they needed to stay home to care for children or immunocompromised family members. That’s why I am pleased Illinois is expanding rental relief to $1.5 billion, nearly 4 times the amount that was available last year,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The Illinois Rental Payment Program will ensure more than 120,000 household renters see relief, with more renters potentially being touched in the future, too. Any eligible resident who rents their home, is behind on payments, and experienced financial hardship in the pandemic is eligible to apply for up to $25,000 of rental assistance paid directly to their housing provider or landlord.”
Launched in May 2021, ILRPP is an emergency rental assistance program providing up to $25,000 to support households in Illinois that are unable to pay rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This round of ILRPP assistance will deliver over $500 million in assistance and is expected to assist 63,000 households. To date, IHDA has received applications from households in 100 of Illinois’ 102 counties. Approximately 90% of the 8,890 approved applications to date have assisted households who have been unemployed for more than 90 days, and 99% of approvals have assisted very-low-income households to keep vulnerable tenants in their homes while they regain financial solvency. The program has provided an average of $9,491 per household.
“ILRPP is providing a crucial financial lifeline for both tenants and landlords during this crisis, and IHDA is committed to distributing these funds efficiently and as fairly as possible,” said IHDA Executive Director Kristin Faust. “We are pleased by our progress so far, but we know more support is needed. If you are a renter struggling to pay your bills, we want you to know that help is here. Funding is still available, and you can apply for your fair share of support starting June 28 at ilrpp.ihda.org.”
ILRPP is funded through an appropriation in the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (P.L. 116-260), which passed in December 2020. This legislation included $900 billion in stimulus relief for the COVID-19 pandemic, with $25 billion allocated for state and local government rental assistance programs. The Illinois General Assembly provided additional guidance for how this funding can best reach those most in need and increased protections for those facing eviction through the passage of the COVID-19 Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program Act (P.A. 102-0005).
“These are trying times for many of our residents and the Illinois Rental Payment Program has become a vital resource for housing stability,” said St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern. “St. Clair County was pleased to partner with IHDA in implementing this emergency rental assistance and we hope the tenant-led phase mirrors the strong turnout of applications as seen in the housing provider period.”
Additional rounds for rental and a new mortgage assistance program will be announced in the coming weeks for households still struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2) both provided these emergency funds so the state of Illinois can continue to aid struggling Illinois renters, housing providers and homeowners.
Be sure to continue to monitor www.ihda.org for future program updates and announcements.
Illinois Rental Payment Program
The Illinois Housing Development Authority launched the Illinois Rental Payment Program (ILRPP) to provide eligible renters up to $25,000 paid directly to their housing provider. Assistance will be matched to the tenant’s specific need and will cover up to 15 month of emergency rental assistance, including up to 12 months of missed rent payment and three months of future rent payments. The coverage period is June 2020 through August 2021. Tenants and housing providers can submit a joint application at ILRPP.IHDA.org.
After the housing provider and tenant have both submitted their application, they will each receive an Application ID via email. Applicants may use this ID to check the status of their application at ILRPP.ihda.org/status.
For additional information, contact the ILRPP call center at: 866-454-3571.
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