HomeMy WebLinkAboutHomeless Prevention ProgramHomeless Prevention Program
1. SHORT-TER-NO1EDIUM-TER-Ni RENTAL ASSIST.x.\CE PROGRAM:
Program Description:
The Short'Medium-Terni rental assistance program provides temporary financial assistance sen -ices
to individuals and families who would be homeless but for this assistance. This assistance will allow
families and individuals to remain in their existing rental units or to help them obtain and remain in
rental units they select located within City limits.
i. Short -Term rental assistance may not exceed rental costs accrued over a period of 3
months. After 3 months, if program participants receiving Short -Term rental assistance
need additional. financial assistance to remain housed, they must be evaluated for
eligibility to receive up to 3 additional months of Medium -Term rental assistance;
ii. Medium -Term rental assistance may not exceed actual rental costs accrued over a period
of 4 to 12 months. If program participants receiving Medium -Terni rental assistance need
additional financial assistance to remain housed. they must be evaluated for eligibility
every 3 months until the maximum assistance allowed under this City program is
reached.
Tvpe of Assistance:
Eligible families and individuals can qualify for the following assistance based on their financial
situation:
i. Rental Assistance:
a. May be used to pay up to 6 months rental in arrears for eligible program participants
if the payment enables the program participant to remain in the housing unit for
which the arrears are being paid or move to another unit;
b. No program participant may receive more than 12 months of rental assistance
inclusive of rental in arrears payments;
c. Rental Payments shall follow a declining subsidy schedule (see Attachment 1);
d. Rental payments cannot be made on behalf of eligible individuals or families for the
same period of time and for the same cost types that are being provided through
in
another federal, state, or local housing subsidy program;
e. Rents must be the lower of fair market rent as published annually by US Department
of Housing and Urban Development or the rent reasonableness standard for the
apartment;
ii. Security and Utility De op sits:
a. Security and utility (electric, water &- se -,ver. and gas oily) deposits covering the
same period of time in «-hick assistance is being provided through another housing
subside program are allowable as long as they cover different expenditures.
iii. Utility Pavinents:
a. Up to 12 months of utility payments (electric, water & sewer. and gas only),
including up to 6 months of utility payments in arrears:
b. Household member must have an account in his "her name with the utility company or
proof of responsibility to make utility payments such as canceled checks or receipts
in his. her name from a utility company;
iv. MovinQ Cost Assistance:
a. Covers reasonable moving costs, such as truck rental, hiring a moving company, or
short-term storage fees for a maximum of 3 months or until the program participant is
in housing, v-hichever is shorter:
V. Motel and Hotel Vouchers:
a. Covers motel and/or hotel vouchers for up to 30 days if no appropriate shelter beds
are available and subsequent rental housing has been identified, but it is not
immediately available for move -in by program participants;
All payments will be made directly to the vendors.
Eligible Program Participants:
Households must meet the following eligibility criteria:
1. Must be residents of the City of Miami;
2. Must have household income at or below 50% of area median income (AMI) as
published annually by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development;
3. Must be at risk of homelessness due to one or more of the following situations:
a. Facing e-,riction within 2 weeks from a private dwelling (including housing provided
by family and friends);
b. Sudden and significant loss of income. Such loss of income must have occurred after
September l', 2008;
c. Sudden and significant increase in utility costs;
d. Recent traumatic life event, such as death of a spouse or primary care provider, or
recent health crisis that prevented the household from meeting its financial
responsibilities;
e. Significant amount of medical debt;
£ Discharge within two weeks from an institution in which the person has been a
resident for more than 180 days (including prisons, mental health institutions,
hospitals);
HPRP Policies & Procedures v.1 Page 2
a. Residencv in housing that has been condemned by housing officials and is no longer
meant for human habitation:
h. Homeless in the last 12 months. due to a recent life changing event. such as loss of
income. death of a spouse or a primary care provider. or recent health crisis:
i. Past institutional care (prison. treatment facility. hospital):
j. Other risk factors not listed must be pre -approved by the City of Miami.
4. Be certified as eligible by a Case Manager for the program and attend all required case
management appointments:
Duration of Assistance
Initial assistance will be for a period of three (3) months. However. assistance can be extended
for additional nine (9) months, if participant is able to show progress towards financial
sufficiency. Notwithstanding the financial situation of a household, the maximum total assistance
cannot be more than a period of 12 months including any payments made towards arrears.
2. HousiNG RELOCATION AND STABILIZATION SERVICES
Program Description:
This program provides for services that assist program participants with housing stability and
placement. These services are limited to the following and may only be provided to eligible
participants receiving Rental Assistance as highlighted in program #1 above.
i. Case Management
a. Households will be required to meet with a - Case Manager before any financial
assistance is provided to verify income and program eligibility; The Case Manager
will also provide the following services to the household:
).Refer ineligible households to other agencies for assistance;
2.Refer eligible households to other agencies who can provide assistance in
improving the financial situation of the household;
3.Certify households for extensions based on household's actions made towards
financial sufficiency;
4.Refer eligible households for legal services in landlord/tenant disputes and
approve payment of legal expenses, if such legal services attempt to keep the
tenant in their current housing;
ii. Legal Services
a. Provides for legal advice and representation in administrative or court proceedings
related to tenant/landlord matters or housing issues, provided that the assistance will
HPRP Policies & Procedures v.1 Page 3
attempt to keep the tenant in their current housing. Legal sen -ices related to
mortaazes are not eligible.
iii. Credit Repair
a. Assist rental assistance program participants with critical shills related to household
budgeting, money management, accessing a freed personal credit report. and
resolving personal credit issues.
HPRP Estimated Budget Summar
S150,000
Homelessness
Rapid Re -housing
Total Amount
53,392,918
Prevention
I
` Budgeted
Financial Assistance'
51,696,500
S678,500
S2,375,000
Housing Relocation and
5500.000
S198.272
5698.272
Stabilization Services2
Subtotal
$2,196,500
5876,772
$3,073,272
(add previous two rows)
Data Collection and Evaluation'
S150,000
Administration (up to 5% of allocation)
5169,646
Total HPRP Amount Budgeted4
53,392,918
'Financial assistance includes the following activities as detailed in the HPRP Notice: short-
term rental assistance, medium-term rental assistance, security deposits, utility deposits,
utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel or hotel vouchers.
'Housing relocation and stabilization services include the following activities as detailed in
the HPRP Notice: case management, outreach, housing search and placement, legal services,
mediation, and credit repair.
3Data collection and evaluation includes costs associated with operating HUD -approved
homeless management information systems for purposes of collecting unduplicated counts of
homeless persons and analyzing patterns of use of HPRP funds.
HPRP Policies & Procedures v.1 Page 4
.4ttaclu-nent 1
Rental Assistance: Assistance is individualhv determined and r_iay vary depending on need.
Short and Medium -Term Assistance Subsidies (in percentages):
Month
1
2
3
4
5 1 6 7
8 9 j 10
11 12
City Share of
Rent
100%
100%
75%
50%
� 50%
i 25%
1 25%
, 25%
25%
250io
I 25% i 25%
1
City Share of
100%
100°l0
75°l0
75°l0
75°l0
75%
75%
75%
75%
75%
75%
75%
Rent (Disabled)
i
Assisted clients are responsible for contributing the part of the rent not covering by the subsidies.
HPRP Policies & Procedures v.1 Page 5