Tenant just requested for Rental assistance program, good or bad

[Ash Gowda]

Hello  , One of our tenants just requested to fill in landlord paperwork for the Rental assistance program. Is this a good thing about the tenant or is it ok. They have been good all along the Covid season but now they are requesting for this assistance.

Can you please advise if this is Ok and what process we need to follow/comply as landlord during this process ?

Also if approved would the assistance help for the entire rental amount ?

Thanks

[Nathan Gesner]

Originally posted by @Ash Gowda:

Hello  , One of our tenants just requested to fill in landlord paperwork for the Rental assistance program. Is this a good thing about the tenant or is it ok. They have been good all along the Covid season but now they are requesting for this assistance.

Can you please advise if this is Ok and what process we need to follow/comply as landlord during this process ?

Also if approved would the assistance help for the entire rental amount ?

Thanks

There's nothing wrong with a tenant requesting assistance as long as they are communicating with you and making the effort to keep up on rent and responsibilities. 

Will they get the full amount? That depends on who they apply with and how much they are approved for. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program has a ton of money still available and they are granting people up to the full amount of unpaid rent AND up to three months of future rent. One of my tenants was fully caught up, but they were still awarded three months of future rent. Two weeks later they received a notice saying they could qualify for more. They applied again and received another three months of future rent even though they haven't used the first three months yet! That's six months of free rent (thanks to the tax-payers and a government that loves to be generous with other people's money).