TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo and Lucas County households can apply for emergency rental assistance through Sept. 30 to receive up to 15 months of financial aid.
The Toledo Lucas County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (TLCERAP) reopened its application portal for households struggling to pay for rental housing. According to a press release from the city of Toledo, eligible households can receive funds to pay for current and future rent, past due rent, late fees, new renter fees, security deposits, utility deposits and utility payments.
"To date, this program has assisted just under 4,000 households in Toledo-Lucas County with more than $20 million dollars in assistance," Housing Commissioner Tiffanie McNair said in a press release. "We are opening the portal to make sure that everyone who is eligible has an opportunity to get the help needed to stabilize their housing."
Eligibility is based on several factors, including income and household size. Household eligibility is limited by a maximum income threshold, which is determined by the median income for the area.
For example, a household of four people must not make more than $62,250 annually or $5,188 monthly. Households below this threshold may qualify, so long as they also meet other eligibility requirements. For a full list of maximum income thresholds, click here.
Applicants must also live in Toledo or Lucas County and demonstrate financial need such as unemployment, recent financial hardship and/or risk of homelessness or housing instability. For a full list of eligibility requirements, click here.
Households remain eligible even if they already started an application or previously received assistance, as long as the maximum amount of assistance was already met.
This is the final opportunity to apply for rental assistance in 2022.
As inflation continues to rise nationally, the cost of housing is something many families and households struggle with. According to the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, monthly 62.7% of rental units in the Toledo Metropolitan Area costs $500-$999 per month.
Over a third of Toledoans spend a significant portion of their paycheck on rent: the same survey found 36.1% of Toledoans spend 35% or more of their monthly income on rent. Additionally, 33.3% of people in the Toledo metro make under $35,000 per year.
Toledo has an estimated 600 to 800 unhoused people. If you are having a housing crisis, call 211 for assistance.
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