The city of Portland is alerting the public that the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention issued a new eviction moratorium that temporarily halts evictions in counties with heightened levels of community transmission through October 3, 2021.

If you’re a renter having trouble paying your rent, utilities, or other housing costs – or if you’re a landlord trying to stay afloat with tenants in this situation – help may be available.  State and local programs distributing billions of dollars in rental assistance to help renters stay housed during the pandemic.  Visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Rental Assistance Finder to find out what this means for you and what you can do.  The CFPB’s site also includes resources to help renters and landlords understand other resources to help navigate various financial hardships related to the pandemic.

In Maine, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA) through MaineHousing provides rental and utility relief payments to help eligible renters.  Maine’s Community Action Agencies (CAAs) will review applications, check eligibility and process payments for eligible expenses on behalf of households.  MaineHousing’s site also has a list of Tenant FAQs as well as landlord’s FAQs.

At the end of July, MaineHousing announced expanded eligibility for the ERA program, increasing both the potential number of Maine people who can receive help paying their rent and utilities and the number of months they may receive assistance.  The following charged took effect a noon on Monday, August 2:

1. Updating one of the eligibility requirements from having financial difficulty because of the pandemic during the pandemic, and
2.  Increasing the total number of months a household can receive from 15 months to 18 months.

To help round out the benefits the ERA program provides, MaineHousing is funding Pine Tree Legal Assistance and Legal Services for the Elderly to provide legal representation for tenants facing eviction.

Those who have applied and were approved for the program AND those who have applied and have yet to hear back do not need to take any further action regarding their application.  Maine’s CAAs will automatically apply any updates to existing applicants.  CAAs will also reach out to applicants whose applications were denied because they did not meet previous eligibility requirements related to financial difficulties.  The program which launched on March 1 earlier this year, has helped 9,286 Maine households with $46.2 million in paid and approved funding.