Struggling to pay rent or utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Missouri State Assistance For Housing Relief (SAFHR) may be able to help.
The State Assistance for Housing Relief (SAFHR) for Renters program provides rent and utility assistance for eligible Missouri residents who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
You are likely eligible for assistance if your income is less than 80-percent of your area's median income and if one or more members of your household must be receiving unemployment benefits, and/or experienced financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. You need not have been sick with COVID-19 - but you must have experienced a reduction in household income (as a result of a reduction in work hours, job loss, etc.), incurred significant costs, or other hardship. You must also attest to your risk of losing your residence (housing instability) or becoming homeless as a result of the financial hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applications are open now, and expected to remain open until September 2022.
The program covers up to a total of 12 months of rent and utility bills, back to April 2020 and for up to three months in the future. Utilities include gas, electric, water, sewage/waste water, fuel (propane, wood, etc.) and trash. Money is paid directly to landlord or utility company.
Apply online at mohousingresources.com/safhr
If you can not apply online or need help with your application, please call 833-541-1599 or email: mo.safhr@mhdc.com
Click here for more information about the program.
Assistance is also available for landlords. Click here to view the landlord flyer.