San Antonio Standard

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Apartment Association is giving its member owners, operators or landlords a chance to help renters affected by COVID-19 through its Emergency Rental Assistance Program for April 2020.

The association wants its member landlords to forgive 25% of rent owed for tenants qualified to receive city aid, a move it said could help the tenants and San Antonio’s rental assistance program known as the Risk Mitigation Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The goal is to point renters to existing assistance while also providing direct support, according to the association.

The San Antonio Apartment Association – which communicates, educates and advocates for rental housing industry professionals – consists of members who provide homes to over 211,000 families.

“The San Antonio Apartment Association (SAAA) has proposed a completely voluntary Emergency Rental Assistance Program for rental housing providers who have residents who have been directly impacted by COVID-19 through a loss of income due to job loss, furlough or reduction in wages/hours,” said the association in its April 7 “Emergency Rental Assistance Program for April 2020” update.

“SAAA is encouraging members to participate in the program, if you can, by forgiving 25% of your tenant’s outstanding rent and waiving any late fees in return for receiving the remaining 75% of the rent from the City’s Risk Mitigation Fund," the report said. "The effort will help leverage additional funding for the City’s Risk Mitigation Fund. The encouragement by SAAA to discount outstanding rent and waive late fees will help the fund assist more residents.

Created in October 2018, the City of San Antonio’s Risk Mitigation Fund prevents, mitigates and minimizes housing displacement. It includes provisions for rental assistance for San Antonio residents who experience an emergency hardship that puts them behind on rent, mortgage or utilities, according to the fund’s policy.

San Antonio Apartment Association’s 25% rent forgiveness proposal is targeted to residents who qualify for city aid and face hardship because of COVID-19-related issues. The idea is to help money in the city’s rental assistance program to go further, according to the San Antonio Current.

Residents can qualify for funding from the Risk Mitigation Fund by being at or below 100% of the Area Median Income. They also must show proof of unemployment and the inability to pay their rent, said the San Antonio Apartment Association. People could qualify if they can document they were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as decreased hours or wages or job loss).

The San Antonio Apartment Association has over 1,500 property owners, management companies and multi-family communities representing over 200,000 rental units.