Rental assistance program marks milestone

A pandemic response program to pay rent for impacted residents marks a distribution milestone.

Through Indy Rent, more than $100 million in rental assistance has gone out to tens of thousands of households. Launched in the summer of 2020, Indy Rent sought to keep people impacted by COVID-19 housed. The city says nearly 45,000 applications have been approved.

The program uses federal relief funding, first from the CARES Act and then another $91 million appropriated through the state. About $50 million of that money is still available, plus additional funding from the American Rescue Plan.

In a written statement Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said there’s more work to do. 

“Even as we reach this significant milestone,” Hogsett said, “we will continue working with our partners to distribute assistance to as many eligible tenants as possible.”

The program has expanded to extend the period of rental assistance time.  The city also operates the Tenant Advocate Project to provide legal assistance and help process applications.  There have been more efforts to coordinate rental assistance updates in court to avoid evictions.

Residents can learn about eligibility guidelines and apply for rental assistance at IndyRent.org

Contact WFYI city government and policy reporter Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @JillASheridan.