April 15, 2024
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McHenry County expands, extends COVID-19 rent, utility assistance program

By Northwest Herald staff report
The McHenry County Administration Building is located at 667 Ware Road in Woodstock.

The McHenry County Administration Building is located at 667 Ware Road in Woodstock.

McHenry County’s emergency assistance program to help qualified renters and landlords struggling because of pandemic-related financial hardship has been extended for a year, the county said in a news release.

Eligibility for the program also has been expanded to households on public and subsidized housing, as well as households using federal housing choice vouchers, according to the release. Renters and landlords who qualify are now eligible for up to 18 months of assistance and up to 12 months in arrears.

Expanding the rental assistance program is important with the federal moratorium on evictions set to expire at the end of the month, McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler said in the release.

“While COVID-19 restrictions are now a memory, the damage the pandemic did to households is still with us. Making our lifeline to struggling renters available to more people, and giving people much more time to apply if they need help, is the least we can do,” Buehler, R-Crystal Lake, said in a statement.

More than $1.8 million has been distributed to more than 220 households since enrollment first opened in late March, according to the release. The program uses federal allocated to McHenry County as part of a COVID-19 recovery legislation signed into law at the end of last year.

The deadline to apply for assistance is now Sept. 30, 2022.

Qualifying households must be at or below 80% of their area’s median income, and households at 50% or lower or include dependents or those 62 years and older will get priority.

Applicants also must be able to demonstrate a loss of income or employment as a result of COVID-19, according to the release. Immigration status is not a factor in determining eligibility.

Applications can be found and submitted at http://www.McHenryRent.com, which is available in both English and Spanish. Renters who do not have Internet access can call the McHenry County Housing Authority at 815-338-7752 or, for Spanish speakers, Consumer Credit Counseling Services at 815-338-5757.