COMING SOON - Rent & Mortgage Assistance Fund

APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN IN EARLY JULY.

If you have experienced a loss in income due to COVID-19, you may be eligible for one-time emergency financial assistance for rent or mortgage up to $2000 per household.

To be notified when applications open, check back at hopeserviceshawaii.org starting in July, or follow us on Facebook.

In order to protect our staff and you, there will be NO IN-PERSON APPLICATIONS.

ELIGIBILITY

APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN IN EARLY JULY.

  1. 18 years of age or older;
  2. Hawaiʻi County resident with government-issued ID. If you do not live on Hawaiʻi Island, your application will not be considered;
  3. Must show decrease in income directly resulting from COVID-19;
  4. Total household income must be at or below 80% Area Median Income (see chart below) at time of application;
  5. Must not have received same benefits for the same period from another organization;
  6. Must not have more than $5,000 in liquid assets (cash, checking & savings accounts, stocks, mutual funds, money market funds, bonds);
  7. Households already receiving federal housing subsidies (Section 8 or Public Housing participants) do not qualify.

Funds are limited therefore the application will be available until resources have been exhausted.

FY 2020 annual Area Median Income (AMI) Low-Income Limit (LIL)

To be eligible, at the time of application your annual income must at or below the Low Income Limit, which is 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), listed below.

In other words, to qualify, your income must be at or below this level. If your annual income is higher than the level listed for your family size, please do not apply, as your application will not be approved for a grant.

Household/Family SizeLow Income Limit
146,700
253,350
360,000
466,650
572,000
677,350
782,650
888,000

 

Even if you do not qualify for this program, you may be able to get help from Hawaiian Community Assets’ Emergency Resilience Loan Program (apply online or at 808.934.0801), or Ku’ikahi Mediation Center’s Landlord-Tenant Mediation Program (online or at 808-935-7844).

 

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Get these ready to go for when applications open in early July. Complete applications will be processed first. If you have questions about documents, email us at RMAP@hopeserviceshawaii.org.

  1. Picture ID of head of household to verify age and residency;
  2. 2019 tax return (or 2018 return if 2019 taxes have not been filed);
  3. 1 month of paystubs for all household members and/or public benefit statement (if applicable) prior to March 15, 2020;
  4. 1 month of recent paystubs, public benefit statement (if applicable), or unemployment benefits or evidence that applicant applied for unemployment benefits;
  5. Rental contract or Mortgage statement;
  6. Proof of hardship – documentation showing hardship DUE TO COVID-19. Examples of acceptable documents include (but are not limited to): paystubs showing Pre-COVID vs. current income, unemployment letter, lay off letter, and/or rent or mortgage past due notice;
  7. Most recent bank statement(s) from all accounts;
  8. Lease verification – (For property management companies seeking direct payment to them, we will need an authorization letter from the owner. No need to upload if this does not apply to you.)

Once your application has been reviewed, we will make every effort to contact you by phone or email within 24 hours.

If application is approved, the funds will be mailed directly to the landlord, bank, or mortgage company).

We may request a Form W-9. If our staff asks you to submit Form W-9, you may download it from the IRS here.

HOW TO APPLY

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT YET OPEN. THIS PROGRAM WILL LAUNCH IN EARLY JULY.

NO IN-PERSON APPLICATIONS OR INQUIRIES, PLEASE.

Applications will be accepted online or on the phone. No early applications will be accepted.

You will need a Google account to access the online application at the bottom of this page. If you do not have a Google account, you may create one for free here. Make sure to save your password and check it often.

Before starting your application, make sure you have all your documents in PDF or image (.jpg, .png) format.

DON'T WORRY, YOU DIDN'T MISS IT!

Thanks for reading all the way through. We appreciate your attention to detail. The application will be made available in early July. To be notified when applications open, check back at hopeserviceshawaii.org starting in July, or follow us on Facebook.

Mahalo nui!

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“I'm so grateful you are there for the people of Hawaiʻi.”

Susan, formerly homeless Hawaiʻi Island resident