Rockingham Times

Town of Windham NH issued the following announcement on July 14.

Rental Assistance Program

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the Rockingham County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (“RC ERAP”) is now open for accepting applications!  If you are a Rockingham County tenant in need of rental and/or utility assistance, you will need to first set up an online account, which can be done by clicking on the “First Time Tenant User/Applicant” link below.  Landlords who have Rockingham County tenants that are in need of rental assistance can initiate the application process, but will have to first set up an account by clicking on the “First Time Landlord User/Applicant”. 

Quick overview of the Rockingham County Emergency Rental Assistance Program:

1. Eligibility guidelines are set by the Federal Government:

• One or more individuals within the household has qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
• One or more individuals within the household can demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability (a notice of past due rent or utilities qualifies as sufficient documentation of this item).
• The household has a household income at or below 80% of area median income (per HUD guidelines; this will be cross-referenced during the application process).

2. Amounts disbursed to landlords can be for rental arrears going back to March 13, 2020.
3. Prospective rental assistance is limited to three months at a time/per application.
4. Maximum total months of assistance cannot exceed 12 months (plus an additional three months if necessary to ensure housing stability).
5. Applicants can qualify for utility assistance even if they do not need rental assistance, as long as the conditions set under #1 can be met.
6. Assistance payments will go directly to the landlords and utility providers.

While the goal is for the majority of applicants to complete the application directly online, Rockingham County has reached out to the welfare officers in each of its 37 communities to provide assistance in implementing its rental assistance program.  Some of these individuals will be able to directly assist tenant applicants by applying online on their behalf, while others will serve a more information role.  The Rockingham County Finance Office will coordinate timely payment of fully completed assistance applications for qualifying tenants.

If you have any questions about the program, please email rentalassistance@co.rockingham.nh.us.  We look forward to providing this much-needed assistance to Rockingham County residents.

Original source can be found here.