Did The City of Philadelphia announce the end of the rental assistance program (phase 4)?

As part of our efforts to provide valuable resources to our customers, we regularly share information that we have researched that can be of use to landlords and property managers.  This week we are featuring information that may be of value to you as you manage during these difficult times.

This week we are featuring a common question: 

Question: Did The City of Philadelphia announce the end of the rental assistance program (phase 4)? 

Answer:  Yes.  On January 6, 2022, the City of Philadelphia and PHDC announced the closure of Phase 4 of the PHLRentAssist Program-the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance Program.

The good news (barely): Your tenants can no longer tell you they are waiting for rental assistance to come through (and that is why they may not be paying their rent).  But, rental assistance applications that are currently in the pipeline are being reviewed and will be paid out of the remaining funds until they are exhausted. Any additional funds received from the Federal or State Government will be used for tenant applications that are already in the pipeline.

The bad news: No new tenant applications are being accepted for rental assistance.

A full copy of the announcement is below: 

On January 6, 2022, the City of Philadelphia and PHDC announced the closure of Phase 4 of the PHLRentAssist Program-the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance Program.

The City & PHDC has administered four phases of the PHLRentAssistProgram. The program helped people pay their rent who have experienced financial hardship because of COVID-19. Phase 4 included utilities.

Since May of 2020, the City has helped more than 38,000 households, disbursing more than $248M to families and individuals affected by COVID-19. The program’s dashboard details spending and will continue to be updated on a regular basis.

The closure of the program is effective at 5:00 p.m. on January 7, 2022. At that time new applications cannot be submitted. New applications will not be accepted due to limited remaining funds. PHDC will continue to review and process applications already in the system.

Applications currently in the pipeline are being reviewed and will be paid out of the remaining funds until they are exhausted. Any additional funds received from the Federal or State Government will be used for applications already in the pipeline.

Landlords and tenants who have been contacted by PHDC requesting additional information to process their application should respond, log in and make those necessary changes. Landlords and tenants that have already applied prior to the deadline will continue to be able to visit 

https://rent-assist.phila.gov/#/ to add any necessary documentation that is requested and check the status of their application.

Starting January 10, 2022, the City’s Eviction Diversion program will continue under a new process. Landlords are required to apply directly to the Eviction Diversion portal and mediations will be set up for tenants who want to negotiate with their landlord. Landlords can visit Eviction-Diversion.Phila.gov to apply.

Tenants can learn about their rights and responsibilities at www.phillytenant.org.