Help is on its way for Modesto-area renters struggling because of the pandemic
Modesto and Stanislaus County are getting $16.4 million from the most recent federal stimulus to help lower-income renters struggling to pay their rent and utilities because of the new coronavirus pandemic.
The funding is part of the $900 billion relief package Congress approved late last year to mitigate the pandemic and includes $25 billion to help renters in households that make no more than 80 percent of the median income and who have lost their jobs or experienced other financial hardships because of the pandemic.
Modesto spokesman Thomas Reeves said the city and county are working together on how to best use this funding, but it is too soon to provide specifics. The city is in line to receive $6.4 million, and the county $10 million. The county’s funding also will help renters in Stanislaus’ eight other cities.
“Countless numbers of Stanislaus residents are hurting right now and fear the unknown,” county Supervisor Terry Withrow said in a news release. “... This program will be a critical tool in our efforts toward helping people get back on their feet.”
Modesto resident Jonathan Uhl, 39, said help with rent and utilities is something he could use.
He said he was laid off in early December from his job as kitchen manager at Casino Real, the Manteca card room. He said this is his second pandemic-related layoff since California issued its first stay-at-home order in March.
Current with bills except for PG&E
Uhl said he earns less than $50,000 a year to support himself, his stay-at-home wife and their two children, a 10-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. They pay $850 a month to rent a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment in a small complex off Coffee Road and just south of Floyd Avenue.
Uhl said other than owing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. about $300, he is current on his rent and other utilities but worries that won’t be the case if he is off work much longer. “I have no idea,” he said about when he might go back to work.
He said it took 16 weeks to receive his unemployment benefits from the state Employment Development Department when he was laid off the first time. He said he expects delays this time, too, after applying for benefits a few weeks ago and just receiving a notice from the EDD that it needs to verify his identify.
The besieged Employment Development Department has struggled to pay legitimate claims during the pandemic while paying out billions of dollars in bogus claims to criminals and fraudsters.
Uhl said he got by the first time he was laid off by borrowing from friends and family until his unemployment came through. He said they would help again but he does not want to ask. “My family and friends are doing just as badly,” Uhl said about how the pandemic has affected them.
Help can last for 12 months
Uhl said government help with rent and utilities sounds promising but said he is skeptical because of his experience with the EDD. “It depends on how it’s managed,” he said. “I’ve seen how the EDD works.”
The $25 billion is from the U.S. Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance program, with the funding going to states, U.S. territories, Indian tribes and local governments with at least 200,000 residents.
The funding can be used for rent and utilities, including past-due amounts, as well as associated housing expenses. Qualifying households can receive 12 months of help plus potentially three more months of help.
The Treasury Department states on its website that “in general, funds will be paid directly to landlords and utility service providers. If a landlord does not wish to participate, funds may be paid directly to the eligible household.”
This assistance comes as the state’s pandemic-related ban on evictions is set to expire Jan. 31, though state lawmakers are working on extending it.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
