Landlords, do you have tenants having trouble paying rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic? Have your tenants experienced a reduction in income or lost a job during this health crisis? Paying bills during the pandemic has been an ongoing concern for some of our residents. Many renters are in arrears as I am sure you can attest to. We acknowledge that many of you have mortgages and real estate taxes to pay, and other expenses involved in maintaining these rental properties. These expenses continue regardless of your tenants ability to pay rent.

The rental housing market is just one of the many issues hit hard by the pandemic and we understand that relationships may be strained between you and your tenant, but there may be a potential solution to improve this situation. We believe landlords want to work with their tenants to avoid eviction and a potential grant has become available that may be able to assist in this situation.

We encourage you to apply for the County’s “Emergency Rental Assistance Program”. It is our understanding that the money would go directly to you, the landlord and may be utilized to assist with rent arrears and future rent payments. Please take the time to go over the eligibility information below for this program and gather the required information to complete the application with your tenant.

The City wants you to be made whole. You play an important part of our housing program. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to assist you in this endeavor.

Best wishes,
Sherry Capello
Mayor
ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD:
An “eligible household” is a rental household in which one or more individuals meet the following criteria:
  • Qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19;
  • Demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and
  • Rental assistance provided to an eligible household should not be duplicative of any other federally funded rental assistance provided to such household.
  • Eligible households that include an individual who has been unemployed for the 90 days prior to application for assistance and households with income at or below 50 percent of the area median are to be prioritized for assistance.
  • Household income is determined as either the household’s total income for calendar year 2020 or the household’s monthly income at the time of application. For household incomes determined using the latter method, income eligibility must be re-determined every 3 months.
Eligible households may receive up to 12 months of rental assistance, plus an additional 3 months if funds are available (determined by CAP).

In addition to rental assistance, households may be eligible for utility assistance. Click here for more information on utility assistance.

Both of these programs are administered by the Community Action Partnership (CAP). The money is available for these purposes, please apply.
Complete the application form online or pick-up an application in person at:
Lebanon County Community Action Partnership
503 Oak Street, Lebanon, PA 17042
Mon. – Fri. 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
To prepare for the online application, please review the list of required documents here. The tenant and landlord will need to submit documentation to determine eligibility.

A representative will contact all preliminarily eligible applicants via email or phone. Ineligible applicants will receive notice by mail.
If your application is approved, rental payments will be sent directly to the landlord or property manager.
View this information in Spanish
Does your tenant need this information in Spanish? Click here to view the Emergency Rental Assistance Program website, application and requirements in Spanish.