The Eviction Prevention Fund (EPF) allows landlords to access up to $18,500 in federally sourced funds to prevent the completion of eviction proceedings.
The Connecticut Property Owners Alliance (CTPOA) recently held a webinar discussing the EPF, featuring representatives of the Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) who explained how landlords can take advantage of a new program that can cover either up to 15 months of rent or $18,500 for tenants who are in arrears.
Marina Marmolejo, the DOH director of housing innovation, discussed how the EPF will be used to replace the Unite CT program, which provided up to $15,000 in rent and electricity bills for qualified households.
“I want to make it clear that the old Unite CT program that you might have experienced is done, it’s closed,” Marmolejo stressed. “We are pulling from the same pot of money, but they are two totally different programs.”
However, if a tenant has received funds under Unite CT, they will count towards the maximum allowable under the EPF.
In addition to the EPF having both a larger amount available per-tenant and a longer cap on the period for which they can apply, tenants will no longer need to meet income requirements to qualify. Tenants will only need to affirm that they were either directly or indirectly impacted by the Covid pandemic in a way that contributed to their inability to pay their rent.
Marmolejo noted that many landlords found the Yardi online system associated with Unite CT cumbersome, and the EFP took that feedback into account by relying only on paperwork without the need to create or login to an account. The tradeoff is that there are no direct deposits ”“ payments will only be sent to the address the landlord has listed on their W9 tax form.
“We know that Yardi was difficult to work with, and we know that merging applications are tough. It was a technical issue, and it was exhausting from our end as well,” Marmolejo told the audience. “I’m trying to describe the intentionality that we came with for the Eviction Prevention Fund, centering the landlord’s needs as well as the tenant’s.”
The other major departure from the Unite CT program is that these funds can only be used to cover the amount a tenant may be in arrears, and that the tenant must have a summons for eviction proceedings in order to begin the application process.
“There are three steps that the tenant has to do on their own to get the application,” Marmolejo said. “From a tenant’s perspective, they are the ones who initiate. You as the landlord, if you have a tenant who you want to participate tell them to call the call center.”
The call center will help tenants meet with a representative who will help them navigate their end of the process, which will require the landlord’s contact information, so a request for participation in the EFP can be sent.
If a landlord chooses not to participate, eviction proceedings can move forward as usual, but the tenant will be eligible for a moving assistance program as a result. If the landlord chooses to participate after receiving a prequalification letter from the EFP, they will need a stipulation agreement.
“We also call it a mediation agreement,” Marmolejo said of the necessary document. “Those two are essentially the same thing and fulfill the same requirements. It’s a document saying ‘I’m willing to participate in the eviction prevention fund, meaning my tenant can stay in the unit. I’m going to pause this eviction and we’re going to create this stipulation agreement that says if I receive funds from the program, the tenant can stay in the unit.’”
The funds cannot be used to cover fees, only the cost of rent up to the $18,500 maximum; however, the stipulation agreement can include requirements for the tenant to pay off all fees, including legal fees. If a tenant breaks the terms of that document, they can still be evicted even if the landlord has received the EFP funds.
“If they default on their stipulation, meaning they miss a payment, don’t make payments, for whatever the reason, you can still restart the eviction process,” Marmolejo added
Landlords can work with a private attorney to draw up the document. Alternatively, they can take advantage of a partnership between the DOH and Quinnipiac University’s Center on Dispute Resolution to have a mediator assigned to the tenant’s case.
After that, once the landlord submits a signed W9, a program participation agreement form, and either a mediated agreement or a stipulated agreement with an arrears form, their payment will be processed and mailed within 10-15 business days.
Marmolejo noted that since it opened in January the fund had provided a total of 1,793 households with assistance totaling over $8.5 million. She added that the Treasury Department has asked for the money to be spent in its entirety by September 2025, but that the current draw was such that funds seemed likely to last the entire time.
“We’re not publicly publishing how much money is left in this fund, but I can say that you don’t need to worry about it. This program isn’t going anywhere, you have time,” she said.
