RICHMOND, VA—As of October 14, 2022, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Rent Relief Program (RRP) has exhausted all funding available for rental assistance through the Virginia Rent Relief Program. According to DHCD, all complete and eligible applications submitted prior to the May 15, 2022 deadline have been processed for payment. All outstanding applications that did not meet the state and federal eligibility criteria will not receive payment (Virginia Rent Relief Program). Public housing households may contact their RRHA property manager to confirm if an approval notice from Gov2Go (DHCD’s electronic online application portal) has been received on their behalf.
“This news impacts more than 400 RRHA families who had incomplete applications pending,” said RRHA CEO Steven Nesmith. “I am urging those families with outstanding rent balances to make an appointment with their property manager to either sign up for a repayment agreement and/or explore additional resources to avoid lease enforcement action. RRHA’s efforts throughout this process have demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate the care and concern we have for our residents.”
Since DHCD’s Rent Relief program inception in January 2022, nearly two (2) million dollars have been applied to outstanding rental balances of public housing residents . With this funding resource now exhausted, it is urgent that households pursue other options.
An accessible alternative to paying the outstanding balance in full, a repayment agreement allows residents to pay either 10 percent of their monthly adjusted income, or $10 – whichever is greater – toward the repayment agreement each month. Repayment agreements allow residents to manage their budgets while bringing their outstanding balances current. Only as a last resort , if an eligible household does not sign up for a repayment agreement, will RRHA move forward with lease enforcement action.
RRHA’s outstanding rental balance as of October 10, 2022 totals more than two (2) million dollars. We are committed to the security and wellbeing of our households and our communities, and we are eager to help families create new paths to stability even after the cessation of the impactful RRP program.
For more information regarding the status of RRHA’s lease enforcement process, please see the latest update here: RRHA October 2022 Lease Enforcement Fact Sheet.
For more information about RRHA programs, meetings or events, visit our website at rrha.com or any one of our social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Instagram. For general inquiries, contact the RRHA Call Center at (804) 780-4200 or toll free at 1 (833) 750-7742.
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