PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The rise of the delta variant is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites as the main reason for an extension of the national eviction moratorium.
The new extension now applies to parts of the country with substantial or high levels of COVID transmission and in Florida, that’s every county.
Saved by Palm Beach County’s rental assistance program, Janny Clark is getting back on her feet and doesn’t have to leave her West Palm Beach home.
“We were approved for it, for roughly $7,200,” said Clark.
You may remember we interviewed Janny back in July when her unemployment dollars were stuck in the system, and she was facing eviction.
Court records show she owed four months' rent from March to June. She said thanks to the emergency rental assistance funds available from the county her eviction was resolved.
“We know that there are a lot of people out there that are still struggling and so we are working overtime just to prioritize those cases that are being evicted and try to process them as quickly as possible,” said James Green, Director of the Palm Beach County Community Services Department.
Green said more than half of the $45.2 million allotted to the county to help struggling tenants with rent has been dispersed. The county has made 6,000 payments to landlords to keep tenants in their homes.
“The extension of the moratorium allows us more time to work with property owners and tenants to negotiate a settlement and to keep them in their homes,” said Green.
The moratorium on evictions issued by the CDC Tuesday protects evictions from being finalized in areas of substantial or high COVID transmission until October 3rd. Green says you can still apply for rental assistance at rentalassistancepbc.org. You can get in-person help to fill out your application at county libraries.
“There is so much money available and people just don’t know how to get to it,” added Clark.
Janny said her unemployment dollars finally came through and she is back in good-standing to make future rent payments as she looks for work.
As of Wednesday, July 28, 2021, 1,092 total evictions had been filed in Palm Beach County. By Monday, August 2, 2021, that number had increased to 1,104.