Last Friday Congress passed, and the president signed, a Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It’s a complicated bill and you are encouraged to research how the bill might impact you based on your circumstances. Here are some highlights that relate to federally subsidized housing: 

Unemployment – if you were employed and have had your hours cut or you have lost your job due to the current COVID-19 orders, there have been expansions in unemployment, including increasing the amount of money people can receive and who can receive it. More information about unemployment can be found at esd.wa.gov/unemployment.  Unemployment checks will be treated as income when determining rent. 

Federal Stimulus payments – some residents and participants may receive one-time stimulus checks. These will not affect rent; one-time payments received under the CARES Act will not be counted as income for rent calculations. The federal government estimates it may take weeks to months for these checks to be disbursed. The IRS has stated “some seniors and others who typically do not file returns will need to submit a simple tax return to receive the stimulus payment.” They haven’t released details yet and will post them on their website when they have further instructions: irs.gov/coronavirus.

Small business loans and grants – if you have a small business that is impacted, there may be resources available to you. Loan applications are available from the U.S. Small Business Administration: disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ 

Your rent will continue to be due each month. SHA understands some of you may face challenges in paying rent if you were working and had a sudden loss of income. Please contact your property manager or case manager right away if you are experiencing a decrease in income that may affect your ability to pay your rent. 

To make annual reviews, interim reviews and income certification easier for tenants during this emergency period, SHA is updating the process for how these will be conducted. Affected tenants will hear directly from SHA with more information.