City of Orlando CARES
Rental Assistance Application
Itemized Instructions and Checklist
General Instructions
You have received this application packet because you have been verified as a resident who lives in Orlando city limits and are eligible to apply for the City of Orlando CARES Rent Assistance Program. If you did not participate in the pre-screening process at https://www.hfuw.org/orlandocares/, your application will be rejected.
The City of Orlando is funding this program with $1,532,608 in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) and anticipates being able to assist an estimated 300 households with the available funding. Limited funds are available and only completed applications will be processed in the order received beginning Wednesday, September 23, 2020. Therefore, please make sure you have read and followed all the instructions attached to your application packet thoroughly before uploading your documents.
Please type or use BLUE or BLACK ink. Do not use pencil or other colors of ink. Please write legibly. All blanks must be completed or have N/A written in.
All household members 18 years of age or older must sign and date the application.
Submit application with all the required documentation to https://bit.ly/OrlCARES.
If your application is incomplete, missing required documents, and/or missing signatures, your application for assistance will be denied.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- City of Orlando CARES Rent Assistance Application Instructions: Read the document thoroughly. On page 4, item 13 read the Eligibility Release statement and provide the required signatures.
- City of Orlando CARES Rental Assistance Application: Document is 8 pages long. All blanks must be completed as instructed on the bullet points below or have N/A written in.
- APPLICANT INFORMATION: Provide your legal name, an address where you receive your mail, an e-mail address (if applicable), your date of birth, and your marital status and other fields.
- CO-APPLICANT/OTHER HOUSEHOLD MEMBER INFORMATION: List all other members of the household residing in the unit. Attach additional sheets if necessary.
- HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION AND CHARACTERISTICS: As of today, list the current Head of Household and all other members of the household. Indicate the relationship of each family member to the Head of Household, date of birth and marital status. Indicate if any of the members listed are disabled and explain if there are any expected additions to the future household, e.g. birth of a child, adoption, legal custody ruling resulting in an additional household member.
- RACE AND ETHNICITY FOR HEAD of HOUSEHOLD: This information is collected for reporting purposes only.
- ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: The information collected here is important to determine eligibility as it relates to COVID assistance.
- COVID-19 INFORMATION: Provide basic information concerning eligibility related to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19. Provide information on whether you or a household member was directly affected by COVID-19. Examples of being affected by COVID include: furlough, layoff, and reduced hours.
- PROPERTY INFORMATION: Provide information about your rent including: your monthly rent, additional fees due, and how many months are due. Add all amounts due and enter your entire due balance on the “amount due” space.
- OTHER ASSISTANCE RECEIVED: Provide information for any other type of rental assistance you might have applied for due to being affected by COVID-19. . If you were approved for assistance, check the “Yes” box where it asks “Have you received any COVID related assistance?”
- INCOME INFORMATION: Provide information on all household income sources. Income includes the following: Wages, salaries and tips, alimony, child support, military income, part-time income, temporary income, TANF, Social Security, other benefits, and other income for all household members. Food benefits are NOT considered income.
- ASSET INFORMATION: Provide the requested information on assets for all household members. Examples of what constitutes assets are listed below:
- Typical assets include:
- Cash held in savings, checking accounts, safe deposit boxes, homes, etc.;
- Stocks, bonds, treasury bills, CDs, mutual funds, money market accounts, and other investment accounts;
- Individual retirement accounts, 401(k), Keogh accounts, annuities, and other similar retirement savings accounts;
- Cash value of life insurance policies available to the holder before death;
- Personal property that is held for investment purposes;
- Equity in real property;
- Retirement and pension funds;
- Mortgage or deeds of trust held by the applicant or co-applicant
- Some items of personal property are NOT counted as assets for the purposes of determining annual income:
- Automobiles;
- Jewelry; and/or
- Term life insurance policies.
- Typical assets include:
- APPLICANT CERTIFICATION: Page 8 of City of Orlando CARES Rental Assistance Application document. Main applicant and all household adults (18 years or older) certify that all information provided on the documents is accurate to the best of their knowledge. Main applicant and all household adults must sign this document.
- City of Orlando CARES CRF Duplication of Benefits Agreement with Recipient:
- Enter the name of the main applicant on the first blank space, enter the amount due indicated by you on the Property Information portion of the City of Orlando CARES Rental Assistance Application document on the second blank space, enter your address on the third blank space.
- On page 2, under “Enforcement”, there are two places where you see “_____ day of ___________ 2020”. Enter the day, then the month when you are completing this document.
- Main applicant, co-applicant, and two witnesses must sign and date the document.
- City of Orlando CARES Self-Income Certification of Income and COVID Hardship: each adult household member must complete one of these forms.
- Provide requested contact information
- Check item one, check item two if applicable
- Provide a brief narrative of how the adult was affected by COVID-19
- Answer yes or no for items on the table. For items where applicant indicates yes, enter the projected amount for the next 12 months (multiply the monthly amount by 12).
- Add all amounts indicated on the table, enter that number where requested on question number 3.
- Adult must sign and date the document on the first line, then write or type their name on the second line.
- Adult can choose to: have two witnesses sign and date the document OR notarize the document. Only one is necessary and both are equally acceptable.
Checklist
Use this checklist to ensure you have all needed documents to submit your application:
- City of Orlando CARES Rent Assistance Application Instructions: page 4 is signed as needed.
- City of Orlando CARES Rental Assistance Application: thoroughly completed, N/A is entered in any spaces left blank, signed by all household adults.
- City of Orlando CARES CRF Duplication of Benefits Agreement with Recipient: thoroughly completed, signed by the main applicant, the co-applicant, AND two witnesses.
- City of Orlando CARES Self-Income Certification of Income and COVID Hardship: Each household adult submitted one of these, adult signed the form AND either had two witnesses OR notarized the document.
- Landlord Verification Form: This form should be completed by your landlord. They can return it to you to be uploaded into your online application, or they can send it to us directly at replycorona@hfuw.org
- W-9 Form: This form should be completed by your landlord. They can return it to you to be uploaded into your online application, or they can send it to us directly at replycorona@hfuw.org
- Lease: all pages, you can exclude any addendum that is not related to fees
- Picture IDs for all household adults
- Documentation regarding your COVID-19 hardship i.e. letter from previous employer or proof of unemployment benefits
- Social security card for head of the household or a legal document with the social security number on it
- Birth certificates for all minors.
- Have your landlord’s contact information readily available including:
- Name of the complex (if applicable)
- Contact Person
- Landlord’s mailing address
- Landlord’s e-mail address
- Landlord’s phone number
- Landlord Forms: Landlord Verification Form and W-9 Form must be completed by your landlord. They can return the forms to you so you can upload them with the rest of your documents or they can send the forms to us at replycorona@hfuw.org
- Scan the documents: Documents can be scanned using a smartphone through the CamScanner app. Formats accepted by the electronic application include: pdf, doc, docx, png, jpg, and jpeg. The preferred format is pdf.
- Go to https://bit.ly/OrlCARES
- Provide main applicant’s contact information
- Upload City of Orlando CARES Rent Assistance Application Instructions/ Eligibility Release (4 pages)
- Upload City of Orlando CARES Rental Assistance Application (8 pages)
- Upload City of Orlando CARES CRF Duplication of Benefits Agreement with Recipient (2 pages)
- Upload City of Orlando CARES Self-Income Certification of Income and COVID Hardship (2 pages), one for each adult.
- Upload documentation regarding your COVID-19 hardship i.e. letter from previous employer or proof of unemployment benefits
- Provide landlord’s contact information
- Upload a copy of your lease
- Upload requested ID documents on the appropriate fields
- Upload the completed Landlord Verification Form*
- Upload the landlord’s completed W-9 Form*
Please read: Only applications that are fully completed, accurate, signed by all adults in the household, and witnessed (if applicable) will be processed.
Please review your documents carefully before submitting and ensure you have provided all required identification and social security information.
If your application is approved, you will be contacted with your case number and next steps. If your application is incomplete or not approved, you may not hear from us for 30 days regarding your case status.
