COLUMBIA, S.C. — The national eviction moratorium is set to expire on Saturday, July 31st, and agencies across the Palmetto State are expecting high demand for housing and rental assistance.
"There could be 100,000 people in South Carolina overall who could be at risk just because they may not know if they're going to be able to catch up on rent or pay their rent the next month," said Chris Winston, Media and Communications manager for South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. "Remember, landlords had to go a year and a half, in some cases, without collecting the rent that they were owed."
SC housing is an agency that provides housing assistance for residents who can't pay they rent due to the coronavirus pandemic. Winston said the agency is working with around 10 thousand South Carolinians to provide rent relief to landlords through the SC Stay program.
The agency helps pay for up to 12 months in back payments, and three extra monthly payments.
"More than $2 million have gone out through our program to avoid these evictions," Winston said. "It doesn't make any sense to catch people up on the 31st of the month but they're suddenly going to be behind on the 1st. So, we want to make sure people are stable and they're housed and that they have an opportunity to catch up on the back rent but also give themselves some cushion for the next couple of months so they're not suddenly worrying again."
The agency is federally funded through two different programs. Winston said almost $300 million was provided to help people who are behind on rent, mortgage, and utilities.
There are some requirements to receive housing assistance. Winston said there are income and residency qualifications, and you must show proof of being impacted by the pandemic.
Donny Supplee, President of United Way of Kershaw County, said with the eviction moratorium coming to an end, they are preparing for a substantial increase in people needing help.
"We're in a situation where we have prepared for folks who are going to be in need for help," Supplee said. "We're ready for it and we're going to take care of folks as we can. We've helped over 200 so far since COVID started. We have several staff that are working on the eviction type situations and dealing with both rent and utility to try to keep people in their houses. We want people to thrive and help them stay, and help them get through this hard time."
Supplee said United Way secured federal and statewide grant funding through the pandemic to help provide relief for those who can't pay rent.
"Our desire is to find a way to help folks," Supplee said. "If it's through a referral to another agency, we do that. If it's helping them first hand, we do that. We basically try to find a way to help folks in need."
The agency starts with interviews to find out what the need is for residents. Supplee said they try to find out if people are trying to recover from the pandemic to ensure they are not fully reliant on the organization.
He said sometimes they can't help people, but they try to work with residents on a broader scale to help get them back on their feet.
For more information to receive help from the United Way, call (803) 432-0951 or (803) 432-5456.
For more information to receive help from SC Housing, CLICK HERE.