Second round of Oregon Landlord Compensation Fund opens to applications
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Round 2 of Oregon's Landlord Compensation Fund program opened Thursday and includes $70 million in assistance covering rent owed by eligible tenants that was accrued from April 1, 2020 through May 2021.
All applications received by May 17 at 5 p.m. will be reviewed and scored; funds are not first come, first served. The Oregon Legislature allocated a total of $150 million to the Landlord Compensation Fund (LCF).
“Oregon's Landlord Compensation Fund Program is designed to provide relief to residential landlords who have been unable to collect rent due to tenant hardships,” says Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) Director Margaret Salazar. “We’re grateful to assist landlords in keeping Oregon’s financially stressed tenants in their homes after a remarkably challenging year.”
OHCS has also made improvements to the LCF Application Portal that will make it easier for landlords and property managers to submit required documentation. Even with these improvements, there still may be occasional glitches due to the expected high volumes of applicants. “We are working as quickly as possible to get assistance where it is most needed in the easiest way possible,” said Julie Cody, OHCS Director of Affordable Rental Housing. “If applicants experience technical difficultly, we ask they be patient and work with our customer service staff to address any issues that may arise.”
Tenants must provide their landlord with a Declaration of Financial Hardship for Eviction Protection . When tenants provide this form to their landlord, they are protected from eviction through June 30th, 2021, and the landlord may use the form to request payment for rental debt owed from April 1, 2020 through May 2021.
Participating landlords can receive funding for an amount equal to 80% of the rental debt owed by qualified residents from April 2020 through the month the application round they are applying in opened. Landlords agree to forgive the remaining 20% of the tenant's debt as part of the grant agreement and as a condition of receiving payment. If there are more applications than funds available, OHCS has developed a scoring criteria that weighs portfolio size and percentage of uncollected rent with preference being attached to smaller portfolios and those properties with higher uncollected rental debt.
“I was delighted for this opportunity to have full forgiveness for my tenant, a restaurant worker and student,” said Glen Ford, a Landlord Compensation Fund round one applicant. “To also recover 80% of my losses is a bonus I did not expect would ever happen. [I am] so thankful.”
Background on the Landlord Compensation Program
During the Third Special Session of 2020, the Oregon Legislature enacted an eviction moratorium and established the Landlord Compensation Fund (HB 4401). The Legislature allocated $200 million in rent assistance to support tenants and landlords, which includes $150 million for the Landlord Compensation Fund. This program was designed to provide relief to landlords who have tenants living in their homes who have been unable to pay rent at any point since April 2020 due to a financial hardship. The program will also eliminate the rent owed for those tenants experiencing a hardship.
Applications for the first round of funding closed last month. Over $40 million was awarded to landlords in the first round, and award notices were sent to landlord this week and last. Public Housing Authorities will verify ownership, make payments to landlords, and notify tenants that their rent has been forgiven. These resources will help approximately 12,000 tenant households and more than 1,900 landlords. As the map below shows, resources were allocated across the state.
