COVID-19 City of El Paso and County of El Paso

Rental Assistance Program

Having provided rental assistance to over 8200 households that experienced economic hardship as a result of or during COVID-19, the rental assistance program served the community and prevented evictions and homelessness within the City and County of El Paso.

Landlords,

How it worked

In most cases, residential tenants applied through their landlords for rental assistance for past due rent, but tenants also had the opportunity to receive assistance if their landlord chose not to participate in the program.

Rental assistance was distributed on a priority basis to those most in need, and who were at risk of eviction.

The program was limited to residential tenants living in the City of El Paso and El Paso County who were not receiving other federal housing assistance. Immigration status was not requested, nor was it a factor in determining funding awards.

Timeline

Landlords Enroll to Participate

Property owners/property management companies sign up to be a participating landlord.

In this step, landlords will:

  • Confirm residence is within the City of El Paso

  • Review and agree to the terms and conditions of the program

  • Share property and banking Information

BakerRipley verifies landlord enrollment. If verified, the properties will be listed in the Participation Directory.

Tenants Apply
  • Complete the rental assistance application

  • Submit complete application

Landlords Verify Rent
  • Landlords verify the rent that is owed by tenant

Applications are verified and payments are made to landlords
  • Once an application is submitted, program staff reviews the applications

  • When an application is approved, landlords and tenants will receive a pledge

  • BakerRipley will then disburse pledged rental assistance payment to the landlord

  • It is the Landlord´s and Tenant’s responsibility to submit any change(s) to banking information and/or property ownership to BakerRipley at: eprent@bakerripley.org

Landlord Participation Agreement

To qualify, you must agree to

  1. Assess no penalties, late fees or interest to a tenant’s account for the months for which rental assistance is received;

  2. Provide tenant credit for any partial payments;

  3. Rescind or cancel any prior notice to vacate and/or dismiss any eviction suit filed within 5 business days of receiving rent assistance payment;

  4. Not interfere with the tenant’s possession of the unit by changing the locks, cutting off utilities or removing appliances;

  5. Accept partial payments of rent and cap monthly late fees to $25.00 for tenants who become delinquent on payment of rent within two (2) months of receiving assistance;

  6. Be able to accept rental assistance payments via Automated Clearing House (ACH);

  7. Credit payment received to the tenant’s account within 5 days of receipt;

  8. Return any overpayments of rent to BakerRipley within 5 calendar days;

  9. Repay funds for breach of contract;

  10. Comply with local, state, and federal eviction moratorium laws and federal anti-discrimination laws.

Enrollment

Here are the sections of the enrollment and what you'll need for each

Landlord/Landlord Authorized Representative

This section is about the individual completing the form.

You will need to upload your government issued photo ID
(Driver's License, Identity Card, Passport, Department of Defense ID, or Other).

Landlord Ownership

This section is about the owner of the property.

You will need to upload the owner's W-9 (completed and signed).

Landlord Property

The section is about the property where the Tenants reside.

You will need the Property's name and address. If you are enrolling more than 1 property, you will need to submit a separate enrollment for each property.

Landlord Banking Details

This section is about the bank account that funds should be disbursed to.

You will need to upload ACH instructions from the bank, or a voided check.

Landlord Agreement

After providing the information requested, you can review and accept the terms of this program.

You can preview the Landlord Requirements here.

Tenant Program Eligibility

  1. Landlords enroll in the program here.

  2. Tenants begin the application process by selecting their landlord from the list of Participating Landlords.

    • If the landlord is not listed as a participating landlord, tenants are encouraged to contact their landlord and ask them to enroll

    • Tenants will be able to submit an application even if their landlord chooses not to participate

  3. Tenants apply online, entering information and providing documents or reasons behind their COVID-19 financial impact, income and housing instability.

  4. Once a tenant’s application is approved for review, the landlord will be asked to confirm the amount of the tenant’s past-due rent and accept any prospective payments for future months.

  5. After confirming, and if application is approved, the tenant and landlord will receive a ‘confirmed pledge’ email indicating the amount of rental assistance they will receive.

  6. BakerRipley, the program administrator will pay the ‘confirmed pledge’ directly to the landlord’s bank account. The landlord must then credit the tenant’s account within five business days.

Documents Required

Qualifying Applicant Eligibility Requirement Accepted Documents

Identification of Tenant Applicant

(Current ID unless stated otherwise)
  • Any one of the following photo identification will be accepted

    • driver's license or state ID

    • passport

    • school ID

    • nonprofit membership ID

    • US visa

    • work permit

    • green card

    • a current or expired foreign government issued ID or passport

    • matricula consular

    • work ID

    • Office of Refugee Resettlement ID

    • Other forms of photo ID may be considered

Confirmation of Residence at Rental Unit

(Provide all pages of the documents)

Current lease with name of applicant and address of rental location as well as:

  • monthly rent amount

  • signed by both the applicant the applicant and landlord

  • any other provisional costs as applicable (i.e. water, cable, etc.)

If utilities are charged separately and are required to avoid eviction, a statement supporting utility charges requested must be attached to lease agreement.

If applicant is not able to provide a copy the current lease, then one of the following documents must be provided:

  • current photo ID with address of rental unit

  • current utility bill (water, gas, cell phone, internet, or other utility provider to applicant at rental unit address

  • Mail from government office, financial institution, or utility provider to applicant at rental unit address

Confirmation of current household monthly income

(Provide all pages of the documents)
  • Award or approval letter for any of the public benefits programs listed above (letter must have name on it and must be dated on or after January 1, 2020)

    OR one of the below:

    • 2020 tax return listing all adult household members

    • 2020 W-2(s) for every job held by each adult household member

    • 2020 1099(s) for every job held by each adult household member

    • Unemployment compensation statement

    • Pay stubs for the 30 days prior to application date, with name of beneficiary and address of rental unit

    • Profit & Loss ledger for the 30 days prior to application date

    • Stipend(s), alimony, pension/retirement/annuity monthly award letter(s)

    • Letter from employer verifying monthly salary/wages

    • SSI or SSDI statement of benefits, with name of beneficiary and address of rental unit

    • Certification of Zero Income OR

    • If none of the above is available, applicant can declare their household’s income

Confirmation of economic impact due to COVID-19

(Provide all pages of the documents)
  • Any of the following will be accepted and should be included

    • Unemployment statement dated on or after March 1, 2020.

    • Letter from an employer indicating termination of employment, furlough, or a reduction in work hours dated on or after March 1, 2020.

    • Loss of business income, if self-employed or own you own business

    • Two different pay stubs showing a reduction in work hours or income over time

    • Notice of business closure (letter or closure from employer, closure announcement in a newspaper or online publication, etc.)

    • If none of the above is available, applicant can provide reason why they can’t provide documents

Confirmation of eviction vulnerability

(Provide all pages of the documents)
  • Any of the following will be accepted

    • Eviction letter

    • Notice of Eviction

About the program

The City of El Paso and County of El Paso allocated $38 million in funding from the Federal Cares Act to provide rental assistance to the landlords and tenants of residential rental properties for residents within the City of El Paso or County of El Paso who experienced economic hardship as a result of or during COVID-19.

Working together to serve you

This program was a collaboration of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, BakerRipley, and Connective.

The Paso del Norte Community Foundation was honored to partner with the City and County of El Paso to serve thousands of El Pasoans who are facing the prospect of losing their homes due to the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

Tracy J. Yellen

Chief Executive Officer

Paso del Norte Community Foundation

As the community dealt with the ongoing economic impact of COVID-19, the County was happy to provide rental assistance to its residents, who due to loss of wages or income struggled to pay rent. The assistance brought relief by allowing families to stay in their homes as the economy stabilized during trying times.

The Honorable Ricardo Samaniego

El Paso County Judge

Many El Pasoans were impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting financial hardships because of the lost of wages or income. I am proud that the City of El Paso provided support to residents by providing rental assistance relief that helped alleviate the economic need faced by many families.

The Honorable Oscar Leeser

City of El Paso Mayor

Paso del Norte Community Foundation

The Paso del Norte Community Foundation was established in 2013 to work with community partners to improve health, education, social services, economic development and quality of life in the Paso del Norte region. The PDN Community Foundation is the home of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation and over 100 community-based funds, including eight COVID-19 Response Funds providing support to nonprofit organizations serving the most vulnerable in our community.

BakerRipley

BakerRipley, founded in 1907, brings resources, education, and connection to nearly 600,000 individuals in Greater Houston each year through holistic community-based programs that support socioeconomic mobility, health and wellness, and disaster recovery.  BakerRipley most recently administered the City of Houston’s $15 million COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program.

Connective

Connective (formerly Harvey Home Connect) is a disaster recovery and preparedness system. We provide coordinated recovery for communities in need, and do so through building human-centered intake and application processes, technology-enabled coordination tools, and streamlined data analysis.