Washington County Announces $2 million for Cash-Strapped Low-Income Landlords

The Washington County Community Development Department announces its Landlord Economic Relief Program for Multifamily Affordable Rental Housing.

Washington County is offering an expedited application process to assist owners of multifamily affordable rental housing projects located in the County that have been impacted by the loss of rental revenue associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this funding is to provide relief to landlords, provide relief to tenants who have not been able to fulfill their rental obligations due to the pandemic, and to stabilize subsidized housing projects so that they can continue fulfilling the mission of providing quality housing to Washington County households with modest incomes.

For a property to be eligible, it must be located in Washington County, consist of five to 300 units, have deed restrictions enforcing an affordability period of fifteen years or more, and there is a demonstrated net loss in rental income due to the Covid-19 pandemic from March 1, 2020, through December 30, 2020, once other assistance has been applied to offset the loss.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit and for-profit entities and the Housing Authority of Washington County. Applicants may submit applications for multiple properties. If the property owner is a Limited Partnership, the applicant must be the Managing General Partner or an equivalent.  In the case that the Housing Authority may be a Special Limited Partner for the purpose of tax exemption only, the Housing Authority may not be the applicant. 

Properties serving the following populations disproportionately impacted by inequities exacerbated by COVID-19 will be prioritized:

• Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and people of color
• Families with children

Funds received through this program must be applied toward back-due rent, and the payments must be credited to the accounts of tenants who are behind in their rent. Properly documented modifications related to Covid-19 and occurring March 1, 2020, through December 30, 2020, may receive secondary consideration if sufficient funds are available. Decisions regarding awards for modifications and delayed maintenance and repair costs will be made at the sole discretion of the County and are dependent upon eligibility and funding availability.

The maximum award for rental economic relief per project is $300,000. If an applicant submits multiple projects, the maximum award per applicant for all projects submitted by that applicant is $500,000. Awards may be reduced prior to making the final payment should rental payments by an outside entity (such as Community Action) be conveyed to the owner between December 1, 2020-January 15, 2021. Washington County will verify prior to making payment. This is to ensure that any payments in transit are validated as non-duplicating.

[Note that these funds are restricted to low-income housing or properties with existing deed restrictions.] 

If you have a question about the program, you can contact: cdbg@co.washington.or.us

UPDATE:  

Click here to apply for this program

Learn more about Washington County's CARES Act Fund allocations