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July 8, 2021

News • July 8, 2021

COVID-19 Rent and Utility Assistance Program Extended and Expanded

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WOODSTOCK, IL – McHenry County’s emergency assistance program to help qualified renters and landlords struggling because of pandemic-related financial hardship has been extended for a year, and its eligibility and benefits have been expanded.

The deadline to apply for assistance under the McHenry County Emergency Utility and Rental Assistance Program has been pushed back an entire year, to Sept. 30, 2022. Renters and landlords who qualify are now eligible for up to 18 months of assistance, and up to 12 months in arrears. Eligibility for the program also has been expanded to households on public and subsidized housing, as well as households using federal housing choice vouchers.

Expanding the rental assistance program is important with the federal moratorium on evictions set to expire at the end of the month, McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler said.

“While COVID-19 restrictions are now a memory, the damage the pandemic did to households is still with us. Making our lifeline to struggling renters available to more people, and giving people much more time to apply if they need help, is the least we can do,” Buehler, R-Crystal Lake, said.

Qualifying households must be at or below 80 percent of their area’s median income households at 50 percent or lower, or that include dependents or seniors 62 years and older, will get priority. Applicants also must be able to demonstrate a loss of income or employment as a result of COVID-19. Immigration status is not a factor in determining eligibility.

Applications can be found and submitted at www.McHenryRent.com, which is available in both English and Spanish. Renters who do not have Internet access can call the McHenry County Housing Authority at 815-338-7752, or Consumer Credit Counseling Services at 815-338-5757 for Spanish speakers.

More than $1.8 million has been distributed to more than 220 households since enrollment first opened in late March. The federal COVID-19 stimulus bill signed into law at the end of last year allocated $9.12 million to McHenry County to reduce pandemic-related evictions, avoid damaged credit, and repair landlord/tenant relationships strained because of late and overdue payments.