The City of Charlottesville aims to enhance its rental assistance program for seniors and individuals with disabilities, a program that has been diminishing due to the city’s shifting demographics towards a younger and more affluent population.
At the recent City Council meeting, Commissioner of Revenue Todd Divers requested changes to the existing program to increase accessibility and provide more assistance to individuals.
“This is something that is probably overdue,” Divers mentioned during the meeting.
“I have received feedback from many members of the community who have been eager for this to occur, but unfortunately, we were not able to coordinate everything effectively.” We’re finally doing it.
The city provides a variety of rent relief programs, such as the Charlottesville Supplemental Rental Assistance Program (CSRAP) in collaboration with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
However, CSRAP is a more extensive and comprehensive program compared to this one, which focuses on seniors and individuals with disabilities with limited incomes.
This type of rental assistance functions similarly to a grant program, providing eligible households with a check from the city to assist with rent.
Applicants need to meet specific criteria to be eligible, as outlined on the program’s website. Individuals must be either 65 years old or older, or classified as “permanently and totally disabled” as of December 31 of the prior year.
Residency requirements, income and net worth limits, along with a rent cap are also in place.
If the rent exceeds the limit, individuals can still qualify for assistance, but the grant amount will be determined by the program’s maximum rent allowance, not the actual rent paid.
Addressing Concerns: Improving $1,500 Limit in 2023 Aid
In 2023, 216 households received assistance, as Divers shared with Charlottesville Tomorrow in an interview following the Council meeting. According to him, there is room for improvement in the program.
We aimed to be more generous with it. Many individuals have expressed concerns that the $1,500 limit is insufficient. Seems likely. However, the key factor here is administrative efficiency.
Hence, Divers has a two-part request for the Council:
- Raise the maximum grant amount from $1,500 to $2,000 per household;
- Also, link the money each household can receive to the maximum affordable rents based on Median Family Income (MFI) for the area.
MFI is a figure established by the US Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and commonly utilized to establish income thresholds for government aid such as housing subsidies.
Divers pointed out that the city utilizes the information to assess eligibility for various assistance programs, making it a logical choice for this program as well.
Calculating the amount of money each household receives requires some basic math skills.
Established in 1973, the program ensures that seniors and individuals with disabilities do not pay more than 24% of their income towards rent.
The city covers 25% of any amount paid over this limit, up to $1,500 per year.
