Larry Nincehelser fills an order at the food bank, which supplies enough food to last approximately three days, Nov. 28 at Friends of St. Andrew. Aurora has begun a new mobile food pantry to supplement stressed food banks like this. Beginning this week, Aurora is offering up to two months rent payments for qualifying residents..
File photo by Philip B. Poston/Aurora Sentinel

AURORA | The City of Aurora on Wednesday launched a new rental assistance program that will provide up to two months of rent for people directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Officials have drummed up an initial pot of $620,000 for the program, which is funded through community development block grants and a city collaboration known as the House Aurora Partnership.

Applications can be found at AuroraGov.org/RentAssist.

The program is open to Aurora renters who do not receive other public housing vouchers, according to a news release. Homeowners are not eligible to apply for the program to make their mortgage payments.

Only residents whose household income meets or falls below the area median income can apply. That equates to $62,541 per year, according to recent U.S. Census estimates.

Funds will be dispensed directly to landlords and cannot exceed current fair market rents as determined by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2020, that equates to $1,260 for a one-bedroom apartment across the metro area, according to current HUD calculations. The total bumps to $1,566 for a two-bedroom dwelling.

The new program launched the same day as the city’s new mobile food pantry, which is slated to dole out several thousand meals a week to in-need residents throughout the summer. Food ran out during the pantry’s first food giveaway in about an hour.

Both programs were the upshot of a recent city survey in which respondents noted concerns regarding food and housing insecurity.

“While the threat of eviction has been lessened because of action by the state during this pandemic, there remains widespread concern over long-term housing security with people falling behind on their rental payments,” Jessica Prosser, manager of community development for the city, said in a statement.

In late April, Gov. Jared Polis extended a moratorium on evictions in the state through the end of May. The federal coronavirus relief act passed in March stipulates that landlords are barred from filing a new eviction against a tenant solely because they cannot pay rent through July 24.

Anyone with questions about the application for the city’s rental assistance program is encouraged to call 303-739-7937 or email coaches-rentassist@auroragov.org.