Click hereto learn more about how to find your local Continuum of Care to explore your eligibility. All funds must be returned in the form of checks and must be accompanied by a note indicating the following: If you are a tenant and assistance is being provided to a landlord or utility company on your behalf the assistance is not considered income. There are multiple ways to prove a risk of homelessness or housing instability, including: Landlords or tenants will submit an application online at www.OURFlorida.com. OUR Florida is federally funded, just like the hundreds of other emergency rental assistance programs (ERAPs) created in response to the coronavirus pandemic. TAMPA, Fla. An ABC Action News I-Team investigation found that more local tenants face eviction while . What is the review process for applications? As of July 13, 2021, OUR Florida has paid more than $3.9 million in rental or utility assistance to 869 individuals with an additional $24 million obligated to more than 7,030 clients approved as eligible for assistance, which is anticipated to be disbursed by the end of the month. If a landlord has chosen or is required to return rental assistance funds to OUR Florida, they are required to make payments in the form of a check payable to Tidal Basin Consulting and mailed to: OUR Florida2002 Old St. Augustine Rd., Building CTallahassee, FL 32301. Hello totally agree. In the meantime, if you are facing eviction. Our fl said I should not receive any late fees on my account. If funding for the under 50% AMI/unemployed group is exhausted and funding remains in the 50-80% AMI group, clients from the priority population may be paid from that allocation. How to Apply: The application to the Rebuild Florida Business Loan Fund can be found here. She escalated. An applicant can log into their account to submit a reconsideration request, which is the same process an applicant uses to apply for assistance. Estimated wait time for approval on our Florida rental asst. Now, I am back on my feet and starting a new job at the end of this month. I was told I shouldnt have been approved the first time (?) They are overwhelmed. The maximum total payment for any household over the course of the program is $15,000. I see the commercial for it every day but I don't know anyone who has actually been granted any help. If you go on the website you can see it's definitely a legit program.. just seems impossible so far to get anywhere with them. The applicant end of the website is fairly buggy and not only suffers from delays, but sometimes manual changes on your account in their back end can sometimes break the account in a way that stops it from ever updating properly again. It was from me saying "I am unemployed and have proven this time and time again to you people, if I get this email one more time and you do not process my application I will go to the news and contact anyone who will listen. If you'd like to support Pasko's jewelry business, click here. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. At the time that Pinellas County was going to send me a check, they saw that OUR Florida was sending me a check out, so Pinellas County canceled it, Pasko explained. She currently has 15 clients waiting on thousands of dollars from OUR Florida. Are at risk of losing your home, experiencing housing instability or are living in unsafe or unhealthy conditions. Our Florida has not let me past the first part which is submitting documents. Visit the Manatee County ERA Ambassador located at Gulfcoast Legal Services Bradenton Office, 1112 Manatee Ave E. on the Second Floor. She showed us the box of medicine she now keeps next to her bed, Just in case we have to go, she said. Note: Orange County's 311 Help Line does not have access to the Neighborly site to provide a case status update. That's BS. A Case Manager is reviewing your application and verifying your eligibility. It's going to be here soon, it's going to be here soon, Pasko said. I've submitted all the required paper work. Please allow up to two weeks for this payment to be processed." A recentLegal Services Corporation studyfound the eviction process to be too fast generally throughout the United States but Floridas is among the fastest, providing tenants only three business days to respond to a late notice before their eviction case can move to court. Oh I forgot that my case was supposedly sent to escalation due to the notice on my door. Here I was thinking that QC was a separate entity on the approval line.i was wrong. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. A request for reconsideration is a request from an applicant, a tenant or landlord, to re-review their file for eligibility or re-review the amount of assistance when the applicant disagrees with the outcome of a programmatic decision. I am a landlord. However, if these actions are done with the purpose of seeking revenge against a tenant, the action will be considered an act of retaliation. JH has 2,881 public housing units and manages 7,868 HCV (Housing Choice Vouchers), for area landlords. If funding for the 50-80% AMI group is exhausted, clients may NOT be paid from the under 50% funding but must be placed on a waiting list. Arrearages must be documented by a notice of late rent, a notice of eviction, eviction court filing information, or a signed attestation by the landlord. Im very disappointed they really didnt do anything for me.. It's insane. I applied for both since I'm getting nowhere with the city waiting 4 months now.. and now I'm in a loop of waiting with the state help also.. it's depressing. Landlords cannot wait three and four months and get the runaround, not knowing if (the moneys) even coming in, Rocco said. Media Contact:HQW.Press.Office@MyFLFamilies.com. You can check your application status by logging into your account at this link. ACCESS Florida provides an application for Food Assistance, Cash Assistance, and Medicaid, and allows applicants to view or update their case, make changes, and receive updates about their application from DCF. Friday, February 17, 2023. Landlord in all their infinite wisdom decided to get a snail mail check rather than DD. Meanwhile, according to her she can see that on the landlord portal says approved, disbursements and amount. She didnt realize you could only apply to one. How will OUR Florida ensure that applicants have not received assistance from other entities to help pay rent and utilities? Florida Landlord Tenant Walk Through Checklist blog the latest from the legal world we believe a more informed member is a more prepared one explore our blog . I have always complied with the landlord and (paid) the rent, at times I will pay the rent ahead of time, Bisono wrote. But the checks never arrived, and apparently cannot be traced. Agree with u 100%. In other jurisdictions like New York and Pennsylvania, tenants have 30 days to respond after their landlord notifies them theyre behind. yet I still let her know my situation and what had happened to me and my children. For nonpayment of rent, the Florida eviction notice is a 3-Day Eviction Notice (see Florida Statutes 83.56 (3) and 83.595 regarding nonpayment of rent). OUR Florida is no longer accepting or processing applications as the program has fully distributed all available state funds. To date, OUR Florida relief has reached 215,712 households across Florida. I dont receive pay stubs. So far, OUR Florida has not accepted interview requests from Spectrum News, or provided an explanation for the significant delays so many applicants are experiencing. Thing is I would have patience as well if I hadnt received an 8 day notice yesterday on my door. Both landlord and I are approved. OUR Florida Program will review the information submitted to determine if any additional information is required and verify the information. The OUR Florida program is no longer accepting applications through the online portal or in person. I applied almost a month now, I live in an apartment complex and spoke with my Leasing office they did their portion last week and notified me. Programs include Family Self-Sufficiency Programs (FSS), Senior Services . Blah blah.. it's been months! ALL AGENCIES ADMINISTERING OUR PORT OUTS (BILLING US/we are initial the PHA): Please be advised that HUD has published a new CY 2022 administrative fee rates schedule and changed the national prorate. Well, Monday I got the email, and now I'm just waiting for the check. (Her landlord had, too, according to an email Bisono received from OUR Florida in mid-October.). But waiting was not something Bisonos landlord was willing to do. To learn more about eligibility, required documentation, and how to apply, visitOURFlorida.com. Access Rent Caf. Both the state and city or county programs operate under similar eligibility requirements. Application in Eligibility Review . In the last week alone, dozens of people reached out to Spectrum News with complaints about OUR Florida, including some urgent cries for help from parents, disabled people and seniors at risk of imminently losing their housing. My understanding is if there is some issue with the landlord and the state that will also be taken into account. Utility bills in the name of an applicant since 3/13/2020 at different addresses, Written notice to vacate the dwelling for failure to pay rent, Established pattern of housing instability, including. I have nobody Im out here alone I need help and ourFlorida.com is not helping!!! and then given careful instructions on what to submit to get approved this time. OUR Florida Accepting Applications Through May 12, 2022; More Than 228,000 Families Served and $1.3 Billion in Relief Distributed, OUR Florida Relief Reaches 225,770 Households; $1.27 Billion in Relief Has Been Obligated to Florida Families Statewide, OUR Florida Relief Reaches 215,712 Households; $1.19 Billion in Relief Has Been Obligated to Florida Families Statewide. All payments for utilities and home energy costs must be supported by a bill, or invoice in the name of the tenant reflecting the address for each qualifying utility for a period after April 1, 2020. I know people who have filed since earlier like in Feb or March and still haven't gotten their taxes yet. Omg guys I did an application for our Florida on June 22, 2021. Since then, the status of the third payment has also changed from approved to paid.. I kept telling them, The money's coming. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Can it be re-issued? A Florida landlord has a legal right to take certain actions, such as increasing a tenant's rent. I also got a separate email, directly after the official approval, stating that I'm eligible for recertification as well. The programs are administered at. An I-Team investigation revealed renters being evicted while waiting on a slice of the $870 million allocated to the DCF's Our Florida program to help pandem. Thank you for contacting OUR Florida Emergency Rental Assistance Program. All Bisonos landlord had to do was wait for the checks to arrive, Bisono wrote. %PDF-1.7 QC according to her=caseworker. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. DCF coordinates funding for homeless assistance through a statewide network of lead agencies, called Continuums of Care, who subcontract with other community partners to fund the direct services provided to the homeless population. Now, I can see the light at the end of the dark tunnel. I saw news articles posting about his new amazing program helping with rental and utility assistance.. Once completed, the applicant will receive notification of eligibility, and payments will be made directly to the business, landlord and/or utility provider. Despite her best efforts, Bisono lost her case and was ultimately evicted on Dec. 3 two days after she was notified OUR Florida had cut two checks for her landlord, and approved a third. Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Fees included in the lease, whether separately identified or included in an overall rent payment, such as pet fees or garbage fees, are eligible for assistance. I dont know why landlords wouldnt want to work with it, because youve got guaranteed rent coming in on time, every month.. They have the power to dismiss the case at any time.. Note that the resources below are archived for reference only. If the program worked right, its excellent, Rocco said. In my experience working on many of these applications, the automated hotline is the next most accurate status indicator after speaking to a person, but way faster than visiting an office or waiting on hold. this has been very stressful. I actually had to say these same things to my worker. Approved Pending Landlord This means that an ERAP Caseworker has determined that based on the information in the application, we can approve the request, but are waiting for the Landlord to provide additional information before it can be processed for payment. The maximum available per-household . It should be illegal how each county is handling this money.. the www.ourflorida.com is no better. Florida spent less than 3% of $870 million allocated for landlords An I-Team investigation revealed renters being evicted while waiting on a slice of the $870 million allocated to the DCF's.