Gov. Steve Sisolak speaks during a Nevada COVID-19 Response, Relief and Recovery Task Force news conference at the Sawyer State Building Wednesday, June 23, 2021.
Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | 8 p.m.
While a plethora of Nevada tenants are set to face eviction once a federal moratorium expires at the end of the week, the state is pleading with renters in dire economic situations to apply for federal funds allocated in the last legislative session.
“As a tenant and as a landlord, you need to take action to access the available rental assistance funds,” said Shannon Chambers, president of Home Means Nevada, a nonprofit group appointed by the state to oversee the program.
The $360 million in aid is thanks to Nevada Assembly Bill 486 signed by Gov. Steve Sisolak earlier this year.
“We have plenty of rental assistance money available through funds from the federal government, and there are dedicated people at all levels of government working to process those payments as quickly as possible,” Sisolak said in a news conference.
While landlords can take steps to obtain assistance beginning on Sunday, tenants must trigger the assistance process by applying at renterconnect.org.
“(The) process still must start and end with the tenant, and I cannot emphasize that enough,” Chambers said.
Since June of last year, about 90,000 households in Clark County have received about $165 million for utility and rental aid, said Kevin Schiller, assistant county manager, noting that about 400 staffers were processing 800 to 1,000 applications a week, with a backlog of about 8,000 applications.
“Filling out and submitting the application is the best thing you could do right now,” Sisolak said.
Under AB486, if the tenant applies for the aid, the court will delay the eviction process and send it to a mediation process.
“The parties are free to work out any agreement that makes sense for them, declogging the court calendars and avoiding evictions, which may prevent a tenant from being able to re-rent,” Sisolak said.
Home Means Nevada, the nonprofit, has about 90 mediators available who are processing up to 30 cases a week, Chambers said.
Asked about the rise in COVID-19 cases, being driven by the delta variant, Sisolak said that vaccination is the best way to get out of the pandemic and alleviate some of the financial strife in the state.
“I’m going to implore everyone: Please do what you can to help us, encourage everyone to get out and get a vaccine, wear a mask when appropriate and we can put an end to this pandemic once and for all,” he said.
