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BakerRipley

COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program

Landlords should note the following general information:

  1. A Landlord’s residential property(ies) must be located within the City of Houston or Harris County. To check whether your property is located within City of Houston or Harris County, please, go here.
  2. A Landlord will be asked to complete a Landlord Enrollment form, upload supporting documents, and review and sign a Participating Landlord Agreement. To see all Landlord program terms and conditions, please go here.
  3. Once a Tenant’s Application is approved, the Landlord will be asked to confirm the amount of past due rent.
  4. Once amount of past due rent is confirmed, the Landlord will receive the ‘confirmed pledge’ which will indicate the amount of the rental assistance approved.
  5. BakerRipley will make payment on the ‘confirmed pledge’ directly to the Landlord via electronic payment (ACH) to the Landlords bank account.
  6. Once payment is made to the Landlord on behalf of an eligible Tenant, the Landlord will be required to credit the tenant’s account within 5 business days.
  7. For more information, visit the FAQ page.
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Landlord Terms and Conditions

Landlord will be asked to agree to the following General Terms
  • give the tenant credit for any partial payments
  • waive all late fees, penalties, and interest for the past due rent
  • rescind or cancel any prior notice to vacate
  • not to interfere with the tenant's possession of the unit
  • confirm amounts of unpaid rent of a Tenant
  • post payments to Tenant’s account within five (5) business days of receiving payment from BakerRipley
  • reimburse BakerRipley for any over-payments or errors in payments
  • provide BakerRipley with a W-9, bank account information for payments, and photo ID of authorized Landlord representative
In addition to the General Terms, Harris County and City of Houston funding have the following terms and conditions:

For Harris County funding, the Landlord must agree to

  • discount the total past due rent by 10%
  • enter into a payment plan with ALL tenants of the property who have reported a COVID-19 related hardship and who applied for assistance to the BakerRipley Rental Assistance Program
  • refrain from serving the Tenant with a notice to vacate or initiating an eviction process for nonpayment of rent for a minimum of 60 days from the date of payment from BakerRipley
  • participate in mediation before filing an eviction suit (before October 1)

For City of Houston funding, the Landlord must agree to

Before
Enter into a payment plan with ALL tenants of the property who have a reported a COVID-related hardship and who applied for assistance to the BakerRipley Rental Assistance Program
After
Enter into a payment plan with ALL tenants of the property who have a reported a COVID-related hardship. Payment plan will require that first payment be made before Oct. 1. and last payment be made before November 30.
Preview the enrollment form in:
English
Chinese
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Spanish

The residential rental property of the Landlord must be located within the City of Houston and/or Harris County.

Enter the address of your rental property below to see if the property is eligible for City of Houston and/or Harris County Rental Assistance.

Type the address and select the matching result.  Please omit any apartment number.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
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Process and Timeline

Phase 1

Landlord Enrollment

Residential Property Landlords enroll to be a Participating Landlord

‍Enroll Here
Landlord enrollment steps:
Enroll Now
Note: The Landlord Enrollment process is not a guarantee of rental assistance.
Phase 2

Tenant Application

Residential Tenants apply for rental assistance

Accepting applications now!
Tenant application steps:
Apply now
Note: The Tenant Application process is not a guarantee of rental assistance.
Phase 3

Application Selection

Tenant Applications are  selected for processing

Application selection steps:
  • BakerRipley will select Tenant Applications based on program criteria and priorities
  • Tenants will be notified that they have been selected for processing
  • Tenants will submit any final eligibility program documents
  • Tenants will receive notification of approval or denial
Note: The Application Selection process is not a guarantee of rental assistance
Phase 4

Payments to Landlords

Payments are processed to Landlords

Payment to landlord steps:
  • Landlord receives notification that a "pledge" has been made for an approved Tenant Application
  • Landlord confirms the amount of past due rent
  • Tenant and Landlord receive notification of the "confirmed pledge" rental assistance amount
  • Landlord is paid
  • Tenant and Landlord receive notification of "paid" rental assistance amount

Preparation & Enrollment

This enrollment process is easier to complete on a laptop or desktop
Here are the steps of the form and what you'll need for each.
1
Landlord or Landlord Authorized Representative
You will fill out information about yourself and you will upload a photo ID.
2
Landlord Ownership
You will provide information about the person or company who owns the property(ies) and you will upload IRS Form W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
3
Landlord Property(ies)
You will provide information about the property owned by the Landlord Ownership. You will be able to include multiple properties so long as they are owned by the same Landlord Ownership and are associated with the same W-9 and Taxpayer Identification Number.
4
Landlord Banking Details
You will provide bank and account information for each property listed. You will be asked to upload your bank’s ACH instructions or a voided check.
5
Landlord Agreement
You will complete the enrollment process by reviewing and providing your electronic signature on the Landlord Agreement.
If you have technical issues with the website or application form, please email helpwithrent@bakerripley.org.
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Our community continues to suffer great economic damage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, with many people unable to cover basic necessities, including rent. This program will bring relief to those across our region who so desperately need it, allowing families to stay in their homes while addressing the collateral impact on property owners.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo

COVID-19 has impacted many Houstonians who have faced undue financial hardship because of a loss of wages or income. I am proud that The City of Houston is stepping up by providing resources for immediate financial relief to renters.

Mayor Sylvester Turner

Working together to serve you

This program is a collaborative effort to stand with our neighbors in this difficult time.

BakerRipley, founded in 1907, brings resources, education, and connection to nearly 600,000 individuals in Greater Houston each year through holistic community-based programs that support socioeconomic mobility, health and wellness, and disaster recovery.

Connective (formerly Harvey Home Connect) is a disaster recovery and preparedness system. We provide coordinated recovery for communities in need, and do so through building human-centered intake and application processes, technology-enabled coordination tools, and streamlined data analysis.

Harris County provided $40 million for the COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program.

The City of Houston provided $20 million for the COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program. This is in addition to $15 million in COVID-19 Rental Assistance that the City provided earlier this year.

Private Donors

Greater Houston COVID-19 Recovery Fund Grant jointly led by the United Way of Greater Houston and the Greater Houston Community Foundation donated $1 million to the COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program.

Houston Endowment donated $2 million to the COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program.

Help us get the word out

Download a program flyer and share with other tenants and landlords.

A collaborative effort to provide timely rent assistance
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