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

Rental Assistance Program

Landlord enrollment begins April 19th. Tenants may apply starting April 22nd. The rental assistance program will remain open until all rental assistance funding has been pledged. 

In 2020, tenants and landlords across the City of El Paso benefitted from millions of dollars in rental assistance to help combat housing insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  For 2021, the EP Rent Help program has expanded to include residents of El Paso County in addition to residents within the City of El Paso and funding is available to help residential tenants whose income is at or below 80% Area Median Income (AMI) who are behind in paying their rent and are at risk of eviction because of a direct economic impact of COVID-19.

Eligible tenants may apply for rental assistance of past due rent. Landlords are encouraged to participate and enroll in the rental assistance program, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the program.

Tenants,

How it works

Residential tenants must apply through their landlords for rental assistance for past due rent.

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

The program is limited to residential tenants living in the City of El Paso who are not receiving other federal housing assistance. Immigration status will not be requested nor be 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 or County 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.

Open until all available rental assistance has been pledged.

Tenants Apply

  • Complete the rental assistance application

  • Provide necessary supporting documentation

  • Submit complete application

Open until all available rental assistance has been pledged.

Landlords Verify Rent

  • Landlords verify the rent that is owed by tenant

Open until all available rental assistance has been pledged.

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

Open until all available rental assistance has been pledged.

For questions about the application process, contact the United Way of El Paso County’s Community Resiliency Center at (877) 594-7276.

What next?

  1. Search for your landlord in the Participation Directory starting April 22nd.

  2. If they are not listed, encourage your landlord to enroll here.

  3. Calculate your past due rent amount(s) for the month of April 2020 or any month after April 2020.

  4. Confirm your eligibility based on current household income (below 80% of AMI)

  5. Prepare the documents you'll need to provide to your landlord.

    New supporting documents are required. Please read carefully.

  6. Prepare to apply online.

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)

Lease with name of applicant and address of rental location as well as:

  • monthly rent amount

  • 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.

Photo ID and utility bill no longer accepted as Proof of Residence as lease agreement is now required to confirm monthly rent amount.

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

    • Self-declaration of income if none of the above are available

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.)

Confirmation of eviction vulnerability

(Provide all pages of the documents)

  • Any of the following will be accepted and should be included

    • Eviction letter

    • Notice of Eviction

How to qualify

To qualify for assistance,

  2. Confirm your landlord is listed in the Participation Directory
    You will be able to submit an application even if your landlord chooses not to participate. Approval process for tenants whose landlords are not participating may take longer, since the program has to reach out to the landlord three times over ten days before moving forward to approve direct payment to the tenant, according to program guidelines.

  3. Be behind on rent payment(s) as far back as April 2020.

  4. Be unable to pay rent due to economic harm from COVID-19 and are therefore at risk of eviction.

  5. Your current household income is less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Income from Economic Impact Payments, also known as stimulus checks not to be included as AMI.

Is your unit within the City of El Paso or County of El Paso limits?
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To be eligible as a tenant, your household income after April 1st, 2020 must be below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Income from Economic Impact Payments, also known as stimulus checks, are not to be included as AMI.

80% Area Median Income* (AMI)

El Paso, TX HUD Metro FMR Area, 2020

If your household income is at or below the amounts in this table, then you meet the income requirements.

Household sizeMonthly incomeAnnual income
1 person$2,750$33,000
2 person$3,142$37,700
3 person$3,533$42,400
4 person$3,925$47,100
5 person$4,242$50,900
6 person$4,554$54,650
7 person$4,871$58,450
8 person$5,183$62,200

*AMI is for the El Paso, TX HUD Metro FMR Area in 2020 as defined by HUD, retrieved from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il2020/2020summary.odn

Landlord Participation Agreement

Your landlord 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.

EP Rent Help aims to provide swift rental assistance to El Pasoans in need due to COVID-19.

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