Alabama Housing Finance Authority and City of Huntsville Partner to Increase Emergency Rental Assistance

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA) and City of Huntsville are working together to offer an additional $4.5 million in federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) for Huntsville residents.

Funded by the U.S. Treasury, ERA was designed to provide short-term help with rent and utilities to lower-income renters experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alabama’s statewide program, administered by AHFA, is focused on renters in the state’s more rural counties. By transferring a portion of the statewide allocation to the City of Huntsville, the funds will address a recent increase in rental assistance requests in that area.

“Areas with higher populations generally have more households who rent,” said AHFA

Multifamily Administrator David Young. “By working with the City of Huntsville to transfer funds from the ERA’s primarily rural program to a local, urban program with unanticipated demand, we are ensuring that Alabama keeps its federal funds in state.”

The assistance will support Huntsville Housing Helps, a new program funded by the City of Huntsville and administered by the Catholic Center of Concern. To be eligible for rental, security deposit or utility assistance, residents must live in the city limits of Huntsville and have a household income that does not exceed 50% of Huntsville’s Area Median Income (AMI).

City of Huntsville Community Development Manager Scott Erwin said the program with Catholic Center of Concern has been well-received since launching in December.

“We are grateful to the Alabama Housing Finance Authority for their partnership and decision to distribute these additional funds to Huntsville,” he said. “Huntsville Housing Helps will be significant for anyone experiencing financial hardship or a housing emergency in Huntsville.”

To learn more about the program, visit HuntsvilleHousingHelps.com or call 256-427-4584.

Since AHFA’s emergency rental assistance program opened in March 2021, more than 41,000 households representing all 61 Alabama counties in its jurisdiction have received $200 million in paid or pledged financial help. Eight highly populated areas, including the City of Huntsville, received separate funding from the U.S. Treasury to administer their own programs.

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AHFA, established in 1980 by an act of the Alabama Legislature, is a self-supporting public corporation dedicated to meeting the housing needs of the state’s low- to moderate-income citizens. Its programs have provided opportunities for more than 200,000 families to live in homes they can afford.