BakerRipley

COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program

All BakerRipley Rental Assistance funds have been committed at this time.

Tenants that need assistance with past due rent are encouraged to apply. Applications will be kept on file and BakerRipley will notify applicants should additional rental assistance funds become available.

Rental assistance applications submitted before December 29th requesting past due rent for September, October and/or November 2020 are being processed and tenants will be updated on their application status.

Landlords needing to return rental assistance funds to BakerRipley have to make the check out to BakerRipley, reference “RAP” and include the invoice number provided on your statement along with the Tenant’s name.

Mail the check to:
BakerRipley
Attn:Treasury
P.O. Box 231808
Houston, TX 77223

Landlords should note the following general information:

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.
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.
Once a Tenant’s Application is approved, the Landlord will be asked to confirm the amount of past due rent.
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.
BakerRipley will make payment on the ‘confirmed pledge’ directly to the Landlord via electronic payment (ACH) to the Landlords bank account.
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.
If the tenant submitted an application for rental assistance and has since paid the past due amount, then the landlord should apply rental assistance funds received from BakerRipley to the original past due balance, and apply funds the tenant paid on its own to any new past due rent.
For more information, visit the FAQ page.

Enrollment is closed

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
halt evictions to tenants that qualify for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nation-wide eviction moratorium through December 31, 2020. For more information on the CDC moratorium click here
not to interfere with the tenant's possession of the unit
confirm amounts of unpaid rent of a Tenant
a payment plan may be required for past due rent
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%
a payment plan may be required for past due rent
halt evictions to tenants that qualify for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nation-wide eviction moratorium through December 31, 2020. For more information on the CDC moratorium click here
participate in mediation before filing an eviction suit (before December 31)

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:

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!

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Process and Timeline

Phase 1

Landlord Enrollment

Residential Property Landlords enroll to be a Participating Landlord

Landlord enrollment steps:

Review the Landlord Program Agreement
Submit property information
Submit required program documents
BakerRipley verifying Landlord Enrollment
Verified properties are listed in the Participating Landlord Directory

Learn more at
Houstonharris
help.org

Note: The Landlord Enrollment process is not a guarantee of rental assistance.

Phase 2

Tenant Application

Residential Tenants apply for rental assistance for past due rent

Applications will be kept on file and BakerRipley will notify applicants should additional rental assistance funds become available.

Tenant application steps:

Search and select their landlord from the Participating Landlord List
Submit tenant information
Certify eligibility requirements
Submit initial intake documents

Learn more at
Houstonharris
help.org

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

Enrollment is closed.

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.

Landlord or Landlord Authorized Representative

You will fill out information about yourself and you will upload a photo ID.

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

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.

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.

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.

Enrollment is closed

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.