The New Haven skyline. (Courtesy Photo / Public Domain / Charles Barneby)
The city of New Haven is using $800,000 in federal pandemic assistance to offer a hand to struggling tenants and landlords.
The program, to be known as CASTLE, or “Coronavirus Assistance and Security Tenant Landlord Emergency Program,” will pay up to $3,000 of a tenant’s back rent accrued since the pandemic struck the city in March.
The catch: Landlords must waive all late fees and interest payments, and must write off the balance of any back rent since March once they agree to take the CASTLE payment. In addition, a landlord who takes a CASTLE payment must agree to not initiate an eviction proceeding for any rent payments the tenant missed before COVID-19.
The program is also open to mortgage lenders with delinquent borrowers. In this case, a housing councilor certified by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development will help both parties work out terms. CASTLE will fund up to $4,000 of mortgage assistance per homeowner to help with a mortgage modification or forbearance programs.
The program is open to all renters or homeowners who can meet four criteria:
- Who live in the city
- Whose income does not exceed 80 percent of the area median income
- Who can verify they lost income due to COVID-19
- Who were not subject to an eviction order before March 11
Landlords who want to participate must make sure the property involved is not delinquent on taxes or is otherwise on a payment plan and is not receiving any other state or federal subsidy towards mortgage assistance. The program can, however, be combined with any state housing assistance program.
“This collaborative program will provide New Haven tenants and homeowners with financial and technical resources to ease the burdens created by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide a sense of housing stability to our residents,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement.
Along with direct financial support, it offers a hotline (203-946-7090) that renters and homeowners can call to get help assessing state and local housing programs. LCI will operate the hotline and has established an eviction resolution fund and a housing stabilization fund for qualifying renters and homeowners — working in collaboration with local housing counselors and mediators.
“This response will provide a vital safety net for residents at risk of losing their homes,” Livable Cities Initiative Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo said in a statement.
The federal government this week announced a nation-wide eviction moratorium through Dec. 31, but has so far not provided any new money for rental assistance programs.
