LIHU‘E — Starting May 10, residents of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau with a demonstrated reduction in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible to apply for the County of Kauai’s 2021 Coronavirus Rental and Utility Assistance Program.
To qualify, individuals must demonstrate a household income of not more than 80% of the area median income, based on family size.
The program is designed to help individuals and families to pay the essential cost-of-living expenses as the economy recovers in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Eligible expenses include future rent, rental arrears, and utilities in arrears for the period March 2020 through December 2021.
Eligible applicants may receive up to $4,500 per month for rent, with no monthly cap on qualifying utilities. Information from both tenants and landlords must be provided in order for an application to qualify for the program.
Households with income of no more than 50% percent of the AMI, or in which one or more household member(s) is unemployed and has been unemployed for 90 days, will be prioritized.
Funding will be limited to households whose primary residence is Kaua‘i or Ni‘ihau. Households will be limited to 12 months of total grant assistance.
Online applications will be accepted starting Monday, May 10, at 6 a.m.
In-person application assistance at the Lihu‘e Civic Center Pi‘ikoi Building will be available on Tuesday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Applications will also be accepted at Kaua‘i Government Employees Federal Credit Union branches island-wide. A calendar with scheduled locations is forthcoming and will be posted on the credit union’s website, kgefcu.org.
KGEFCU hosted a webinar earlier this month on the program. It was attended by more than 130 residents. Questions and feedback from the community have been consolidated, and the recorded webinar is available on the website.
Required application forms are also available on the KGEFCU website, under “Documents.” Details on eligibility requirements are available in the frequently-asked questions section of the website. In-person, live support is available at both the Lihu‘e and Kilauea branches for application intake and/or questions.
• Info: kauairenthelp.com
This story has been edited on Thursday, April 29 at 12:25 p.m. for accuracy.
