San Antonio launches new housing assistance program

The city of San Antonio is rolling out a new housing assistance program aimed at helping to keep housing stability services in place for local low-income households.

City officials said the new program replaces the emergency housing assistance program, whose portal was closed March 1 following nearly two years of service, during which it provided more than $200 million in rental, mortgage, and utilities assistance to nearly 64,000 applicants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the emergency program was intended to be temporary, and the new program is a more long-term investment.

“The city’s EHAP helped thousands of families remain in their homes throughout a historic health crisis. The success of the program rested on the foundation established by the Mayor’s Housing Policy Task Force in 2018, and I am proud that a long-term program will take its place to ensure compassionate assistance to residents experiencing unexpected hardships,” Nirenberg said.

A city news release said the new program is based on the city’s risk mitigation policy and is designed to aid qualified renters and homeowners alike going through financial hardships.

Preventing, mitigating and minimizing displacement is central to the risk mitigation policy adopted by City Council in 2019, the city said.

Qualified households may be eligible to receive up to three consecutive months of financial housing assistance with a maximum of $3,500 for rent or mortgage expenses and up to $1,500 for utilities within a 12-month period, the release said.

The San Antonio Neighborhood & Housing Services Department continues to offer relocation assistance to eligible low-income households at risk of experiencing displacement through paper applications and will start accepting online applications May 9. To submit an online application, visit https://dhs.mendixcloud.com/p/Kinetech/GovTech/HousingAssistance.