Short Term Rent Assistance Program

***PLEASE NOTE: THIS PROGRAM IS ONLY OPEN TO HOUSEHOLDS WITH AN INDIVIDUAL IN SERVICES WITH MULTNOMAH COUNTY INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC***

If you are seeking assistance and DO NOT have a household member enrolled in case management services with Mult. Co. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, or you have exhausted the assistance available through this program, please visit our web page for Rent Assistance with Other Community Programs.

IDD Short Term Rent Assistance Program Overview

This program offers short term housing assistance to households with a member enrolled in case management services with Multnomah County Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

How do I access assistance?

We have 2 pathways to accessing assistance.

1. OREDAP Emergency Rent Asst Program: Eviction/Non-Payment Notice is required. If your household gross annual income is under 80% Median Income (click here for income limits) and you are in need of rent, arrears with current property manager, security deposit, application fees or late fees; follow the steps in the OREDAP Emergency Rent Assistance Program section below.
2. General Housing Assistance Funds: If your household does not meet the OREDAP Emergency Rent Assistance Program criteria or you are in need of a service that can not be paid with OREDAP funds, skip down to the lower section of this page for information about how to access our General Housing Assistance funds.

OREDAP Emergency Rent Assistance Program

*FUNDING STATUS UPDATE AS OF 9/1/24: We are accepting OREDAP applications.

Purpose: The OREDAP Emergency Rent Assistance Program provides rent assistance to prevent households from experiencing evictions and homelessness.

Eligible Households

To be eligible for the program, households must meet all four of the below requirements. There is no citizenship requirement for these funds.

1. At least one member of the household is enrolled in Mult. Co. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities services.
2. Resident of Multnomah County
3. Household must have received a termination/eviction notice for non-payment of rent. (10-day non-payment notices will suffice) or be homeless and moving into stable housing.
4. Household gross income at or below 80% of Area Median Income (limits are on OREDAP application)

• Income is based on snapshot of current income at time of application, or the household’s total income for calendar year prior. Income includes the current gross income of all household members. Refer to the OREDAP Application below for income limit figures.

Eligible Expenses

• Current Rent - rent assistance for current month
• Future Rent - one month of future rent is allowable per application
  • Future rent due beyond 30 days from application date is not eligible.
• Rent Arrears - allowable for rent charges beginning January 2024
• Utilities paid to Landlord - utility amounts required to be paid to the property manager can be included in requested rent/rent arrears amount. (Example - water, sewer, garbage fees paid to the property manager)
• Application Fees - available to homeless/evicted applicants only
• Late Fees
• Security Deposits - available to homeless/evicted applicants only

Amount of Financial Assistance and who can receive payment

• AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE: 
  • Eligible households may apply for a maximum of 2 months of assistance per application.
  • There is no maximum financial limit of assistance per household.
• REAPPLYING FOR ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE: Once a household has received two months of assistance from this program, they would not be eligible to apply for OREDAP funds until 3 months after their last assistance payment. All previously listed eligibility criteria applies to new OREDAP applications. (updated 12/10/24)
  • Example: applicant received OREDAP funds for August and September. They can reapply for additional months of assistance with the earliest month they could qualify for being January. (3 months passed with no assistance) 
• All assistance is paid directly to the party to whom funds are owed. Assistance cannot be provided directly to the applicant or their family, or be used to reimburse the applicant for their expenses.

How to apply?

1. Complete the OREDAP Application Form. See download link below.
2. Submit the following with the application: 
   • Verification of the last 30 days income for all household members.
   • Copy of Non-Payment Eviction Notice.
   • Proof of Payment - Written verification of charges pertaining to the assistance being requested (Example – Rental Agreement, Rental Ledger, Non-Payment/Eviction Notice)
   • Copies of Photo ID for all adults. (Example – State Issued ID [expired ok], Passport, Immigration Card)
3. Send the application and all attachments to iddhousingassistance@multco.us

Response Time: If requested supporting documentation is not received within 30 days of the application date the request will be denied.

OREDAP Emergency Rent Assistance Application:

Click below to download the OREDAP application form:

Eligibility Guide and Other Forms: The information above and additional details can be found on the ARPA Program Guidelines downloadable document below.

General Housing Assistance Program

*FUNDING STATUS UPDATE AS OF 12/10/24: The General Housing Assistance program is currently closed. Applications will be accepted between 12/17/24 at 8am -12/18/24 at 5pm. 

The following are criteria to receive General Housing Assistance and how we determine the level of assistance that can be provided. You may be denied assistance if the request does not meet the following criteria.

1. At least one member of the household is enrolled in Mult. Co. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
2. Homeless or at risk of homelessness.
3. Residence located in Multnomah County for which assistance is requested (there may be exceptions for extenuating circumstances).
4. Applicant has a stable housing plan demonstrating the ability to maintain housing following the receipt of assistance.
5. Budget demonstrates that the household has a current need for assistance.
   • Expenses incurred by immediate household members only will be evaluated when determining need for assistance.
6. Necessity of expense causing the need for assistance: 
   • Only necessary/required expenses will be considered when determining the level of assistance to be received.
   • A reasonable attempt was made to avoid the circumstances leading to the need for assistance.
   • If funds are requested as a result of overdrawn accounts, lost or stolen money, a copy of bank statements, a police report, or other form of verification should be provided by the applicant. Assistance provided for this reason can only be provided once for each client. The applicant’s plan for stability needs to include a strategy for safekeeping money (e.g. direct deposit, automatic payment to landlord, representative payee).
   • An expense that is considered reasonable (per general industry standards). The following guidelines will be used to determine what can be considered when determining an assistance amount:
     1. Up to $150/month in combined cable and internet expenses
     2. Up to $100/month per phone line. Only one phone line per person can be included.
     3. Receipts for large purchases (over $500) will need to be submitted to verify expense.
7. Lifetime limit: There is a lifetime limit of 24 months of assistance for some funding streams.
8. Moves: If the household is moving, the move must be necessary or required. Examples might include, but are not limited to: 
   • The level of services the client needs increased or decreased
   • Safety issues requiring relocation
   • Overcrowding or rent amount in unsustainable
9. Licensed Care Facility: Clients living in licensed care facilities may only apply for assistance to cover expenses related to their portion of the cost to live in the facility and are the specific responsibility of our client to pay. For example, room and board can be paid if the client is unable to cover these costs on a short-term basis. We do not cover the business costs related to the business at large, given the business is receiving service rates that are to be used to pay for housing costs, and the costs for the whole business at large are not the responsibility of our client in the home.
10. Response Time: If requested supporting documentation is not received within 30 days of the application date the request will be denied.

Amount of financial assistance and who can receive the payments

1. General Housing Assistance Funds: $1200 Maximum for the fiscal year (7/1/24-6/30/25). If OREDAP funding was approved, these funds count towards the maximum a household can receive in General Housing Assistance funds.
2. Fiscal year starts July 1^st and ends June 30^th.
3. Eligible applications are approved on a first come first served basis.
4. All assistance is paid directly to the party to whom funds are owed, on behalf of the applicant. Assistance cannot be provided directly to the applicant or their family, or be used to reimburse the applicant for their expenses.

Income Limits

Annual gross income limits vary depending upon the funding source available at the time the assistance is paid. Click on the link below to view our Housing Assistance Policies and Procedures document for details regarding income limits.

Eligible Expenses

• Rent assistance for arrears and current month (Mobile home space rent included) - Future rent due more then 30 days after application date is not eligible.
• Security deposits and move-in fees - only when a move is necessary or required
• Application Fees - CM/PA has determined that a unit is available for rental and a verbal screening has been completed with property manager. Maximum of 3 application fee payments.
• Late Rent Fee
• Debt to a past landlord or utility - cannot be with Home Forward. Must be the final barrier to obtaining permanent/stable housing.
• Mortgage Assistance
• Motel Vouchers - Eligibility Criteria is listed below:
  • Housing Plan - Clients in the process of seeking IDD residential placement would be considered to have a housing plan. All other applicant's must have determined the following:
    1. Long term housing has been identified.
    2. Move in date has been set and will occur by the end of the voucher period.
    3. A plan has been made to pay the deposit.
  • Exceptions can be made to the housing plan requirement for the approval of up to 7 nights of motel vouchers if the applicant is in imminent danger due to domestic violence or other type of imminent threat and shelters/natural resources are not a viable housing resource.
  • Exhaust Other Resources: Homeless shelters, natural supports and applicants own resources must be exhausted prior to the request for motel vouchers. 
    • If the applicant’s health and/or safety would be at risk if housed in an alternative housing arrangement, such as a shelter, please explain these risks on the request form.
    • Shelter information is available by calling 211.
    • If the household refuses to stay in an appropriate shelter or emergency housing alternative, and health/safety issues do not preclude this as a viable resource, the household is ineligible for motel vouchers.
  • Eligible motels – we are required to use motels that contract with Home Forward’s Voucher Program.
  • 7 nights is the maximum that will be authorized at one time. 
    • Renewal for additional weeks will be dependent upon progress made toward obtaining permanent housing and program funding limits.

Non-Leasing Expenses 

Funding is very limited and not guaranteed to be available. Non-leasing expenses may be approved if there is a direct and imminent risk of homelessness associated with the need for assistance.

• Utility Assistance - must provide notice indicating account is at past due and written in lease that tenant is responsible for payment of utilities.
• Small allocation of funding for non-leasing expenses (extra conditions apply):
  • Conversion costs for making a unit ADA Accessible
  • Storage for up to 2 months for clients who are between units and would otherwise lose their belongings
  • Moving Expenses
  • Cleaning a unit and removing debris (“a muck out”), if the client will otherwise be evicted
  • Identification, Social Security card, and/or birth certificate if required for housing
  • Expenses that promote housing stability for assisted households

How to apply?

1. Complete the Housing Assistance Request Form. See download link below.
2. Submit the following with the application: 
   • Verification of the last 30 days income for all household members.
   • Proof of Payment - Written verification of charges pertaining to the assistance being requested (Example – Rental Agreement, Rental Ledger, Non-Payment/Eviction Notice)
3. Send the application and all attachments to iddhousingassistance@multco.us

Housing Assistance Request Form:

Click below to download the Housing Assistance Request form:

Eligibility Guide: The information above and additional details can be found on the Short Term Rent Assistance (STRA) Program Policies and Procedures downloadable document below.

Grievance and Appeal Process

• Multnomah County Intellectual and Developmental Disability - Short Term Rent Assistance 

  Document

  Grievance and Appeal Process (66.5 KB)

Notice of Privacy Practices

If your household is approved for Short Term Rent Assistance funds you will be asked to provide demographic information in compliance with HUD and local funding requirements. Your information will be entered into an online secure database referred to as the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Below you will find policies regarding how we use and disclose your "protected personal information" or "PPI" and about your rights and our responsibilities to protect the privacy of your PPI.

• HMIS - Privacy Poster (English)
• HMIS - Privacy and Security Notice (English)
• The HMIS Privacy and Security Notice can be downloaded in other languages through the following links: Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

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