The deadline to apply for support funds from the State of Minnesota’s COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) is this coming Monday, December 7, 2020. If you choose to apply online, your application must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Monday. Paper applications submitted via US Mail must be postmarked by December 7.
CHAP has already supported thousands of Minnesota households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with rent, mortgage, and utility assistance. To qualify for assistance through CHAP, Minnesota households must meet all of the following criteria:
- Reside in the State of Minnesota.
- Are a renter or owner with an annual household income at or below 300% of federal poverty guidelines, with a preference for those at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines. To reference the 2020 guidelines, please visit here https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines.
- Have an eligible expense that was incurred after March 1, 2020, which is past due. CHAP funds can only be used for eligible expenses incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 7, 2020.
- Are unable to make the payment(s) owed because of the public health emergency due to unemployment, illness, or another COVID-19 related issue.
For more information on qualifying expenses, required documentation, and determine eligibility, please visit Minnesota Housing’s CHAP Pre-Application page (https://www.housinghelpmn.org/). The pre-application is also available in Hmong, Somali, and Spanish. For help accessing the form in one of these languages, please call 211 at 651-291-0211 (local) or 800-543-7709 (toll free). You can also text “MNRENT” of “MNHome” to 898-211, where you will be asked the same eligibility questions. Once you submit a pre-application, you will be provided instructions on how to submit a full application here (https://www.housinghelpmn.org/users/sign_in).
If you need to submit a paper application, or have additional questions about CHAP, please contact the Greater Twin Cities United Way 211 Resource Helpline (reference phone numbers above) between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm Monday through Friday.
Although the deadline to apply is Monday, December 7, 2020, applications may take several weeks to process due to the high number of requests received. Administrators will continue to process applications through at least the end of January, so please be patient. And again, for any questions about CHAP, please call the Greater Twin Cities United Way 211 Resource Helpline at either 651-291-0211 or 800-543-7709.
