Applications for the program will be available to eligible residents within city limits online beginning at 8 a.m. May 4.

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LAKELAND — City residents facing difficulty paying their monthly rent can find local help.

Lakeland commissioners voted unanimously Monday afternoon to approve a $930,310 Emergency Rent Relief Program for city residents who have experienced a loss of income due to the coronavirus. Online applications will open at 8 a.m. May 4.

“As you can probably imagine, need will immediately outpace available resources, so we are preparing for a very large number of calls and applications,” Brian Rewis, assistant director of Lakeland's Community & Economic Development, said.

Lakeland officials were notified April 9 that the city would receive approximately $575,000 in Community Block Development Grants under the federal CARES Act “… to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19).” The city added $350,000 from its existing stream of community development grants and $180,00 from State Housing Initiative Program funds to increase the funding available.

Rewis said the vast majority of money will go to the Emergency Rent Relief Program. He estimated it is enough to help 185 to 200 families, if limiting each to a maximum of three months' rent and/or utilities or $5,000 — whichever is less.

“It's just a matter of the number of phone calls, the number of applications and the lack of funding we're going to have at the end of the process,” Annie Gibson, the city's Housing Program Supervisor, said.

To qualify, applicants must live within Lakeland's city limits and be delinquent on their rent or public utilities. City residents must be able to document a loss of income due to COVID-19, such as a job loss, furlough or reduced working hours. To be in compliance with federal requirements, Rewis said a household's total income cannot be more than 80% of the area's average median income: $47,050 for a family of four, or $37,650 for a family of two.

Online applications will be made available on the City of Lakeland's website at www.lakelandgov.net. Those individuals who have questions or difficulties should call the city's dedicated program hotline at 863-834-CARE (2273).

Rewis told Commissioner Phillip Walker that renters must already be behind on payments, not acting in anticipation, to be eligible for the program. Documentation through pay stubs, bank statements and landlord verification will be required from applicants.

Homeowners who are having difficulty paying their mortgage will be able to seek forbearance counseling provided for city residents through the Keystone Challenge Fund.

Jeff Bagwell, president and executive director of Keystone Challenge, said applications for the program will open May 4 through the Keystone Challenge Fund's website at keystonechallenge.org. Bagwell said his staff will then reach out via email to learn an individual's situation and help coach them through negotiations with their mortgage lender.

“We have received so many phone calls over the last three or four weeks from homeowners in really sad situations,” he said. “Once I get done talking to them, they realized there are some opportunities out there.”

Bagwell said his office will walk through the forbearance requests, processing loan modifications and making a household's budget to cover any possible increase in monthly payments.

“I think we'll have hundreds of emails, and we are still going to get phone calls from homeowners,” he said.

Bagwell said homeowners across Lakeland and Polk County are reaching out for help due to COVID-19.

Polk County opened its rental assistance program April 13 and has since received more than 13,500 phone calls seeking assistance, according to Tamara West, the county's Housing & Neighborhood Development manager. As of Monday morning, Polk has 833 applications for financial assistance.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545.