The Town of Oyster Bay was the recipient of $16 million in Federal funds to assist renters facing economic hardships and housing insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program, designed to help renters facing difficulty in paying their rent and utilities/home energy costs, is being administered by the Long Island Housing Partnership and the official submission period has now re-opened. Qualifying residents can submit an Intake Form now through September 16, 2022 at 5pm by visiting https://www.lihp.org/TOBerapintake.html (for the English version) and https://www.lihp.org/TOBerapintake-SP.html (for the Spanish version) and following the links.

 

Supervisor Saladino stated, “These Federal funds were granted to the Town of Oyster Bay to help residents recover from economic hardships created by the pandemic and government shutdowns. This rental assistance program provides critical funding to prevent homelessness and ensure those experiencing financial hardship are able to recover and rebuild their lives while having a stable place to call home.”

 

The program is designed to assist Town residents with current and prospective rent, arrears for utilities and home energy costs, and other expenses related to housing such as rental security deposits.  Both tenants and landlords may apply and both will be requested to participate (tenants must agree to participate). Assistance under this program could be provided for up to 18 months of payments and will cover arrears and costs accrued on or after March 13, 2020. Assistance is available on a first-come, first-served basis until Federal funds have been exhausted, with a priority granted to very low income households and households with a person unemployed for 90 days or more. To be eligible, a household must meet the following qualifications:

 

• Be renting in the Town of Oyster Bay as a primary residence (including all Villages but excluding the City of Glen Cove);
• Show that one or more individuals within the household has either qualified for unemployment benefits, experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship during or due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Demonstrate that the household is at risk of homelessness or housing instability; and
• Have household income at or below 80% of the HUD area median income based on calendar year 2020 or current projected 2022 income. Income guidelines vary based on the household size.

 

For more details, visit https://www.lihp.org/TOBerapintake.html (for the English version) and https://www.lihp.org/TOBerapintake-SP.html (for the Spanish version), or call the Long Island Housing Partnership at (631) 435-4710.