Rent relief program pausing on new applications

The Arkansas Rent Relief Program said Friday (Jan. 28) it has paused accepting applications effective immediately to implement changes to how funds are paid so that checks go to both the landlord and tenant.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services said it will continue to process applications that already have been submitted and may re-open applications if available funding remains after approved applications are paid out using the new payment process.

The Rent Relief program has distributed more than $68 million in rental and utility assistance across more than 22,600 applications, DHS said in a statement.

Currently, there are more than $50 million in applications in various stages of review, and the amount ultimately approved from this pool of applications will determine how much funding remains. More than $128 million in applications have been denied, canceled, or withdrawn since the program began in May 2021, DHS said.

Going forward, checks issued to eligible tenant-only applications will include the name of both the tenant and the landlord. Under the current process, landlord and tenant applications are matched, and funds are paid to the landlord if both parties provide required information within 10 days. If the landlord does not provide information, the funds are sent to the tenant only. That process will still occur, but checks will now have the names of both parties. This means a tenant will still need to work with the landlord once the check has been received.

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