ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday ended the moratorium on residential evictions. That unleashed a flurry of activity all across the country for renters and landlords, alike.
Inside Horizon Housing rental assistance in St. Louis, executive director Shanna Nieweg said her team works with St. Louis landlords and clients to either settle the debt and get people relocated or settle the debt and keep people where they’re living.
Nieweg says Horizon is funded through CARES money, treasury funds, ESG funds, and affordable housing trust funds.
“Since July of last year,” said Nieweg, “we have assisted 328 families from facing eviction and homelessness and we’ve spent $946,000 as of today getting that assistance out to the street to those individuals from those various funding sources.”
Landlords have a different perspective. The rental money in question is something they refer to by a different name – income. It’s part of how they pay the bills.
Nick Kasoff owns 15 rental properties in Ferguson.
“It’s exciting for us landlords that we finally have the same Constitutional rights that everybody else in America has had for the last couple of years,” said Kasoff, reacting to the Supreme Court ending the moratorium.
Kasoff says landlords have bills, too.
Kasoff said, “We small-time landlords have to pay mortgages, we have to pay property taxes, we have sewer bills, trash bills, repairs. I’ve spent $5,000 just on repairs in the past week, so if we’re not collecting rent, that comes out of our pockets.”
For Horizon Housing, the end of the eviction moratorium is the next chapter of COVID complications.
“We have a really good working relationship with the courts,” said Nieweg. “We have some really good judges that want the same thing our agency does. We don’t want an increase in homelessness.”
In light of the Supreme Court’s action overturning the eviction moratorium, the city of St Louis is holding walk-in rental assistance clinics:
Horizon Housing
3001 Arsenal, St. Louis, MO 63118
Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Wednesday & Thursday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; evening clinics: 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Wohl Recreation Center
1515 N Kingshighway Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63113
Monday - Saturday: 9 a.m. - noon
Wednesday & Thursday: 9 a.m. - noon; evening clinics: 5:30 pm - 8 pm
St. Louis officials say applicants who provide required documents at the time of application will receive assistance more quickly. Individuals applying for rental assistance should bring a photo ID for the head of household, a lease or documentation from their landlord, proof of St. Louis City residency, and proof of financial hardship due to COVID-19. Tenants may self-attest in regards to income loss if documentation is not available. Applicants who already have a pending application should not open another at a walk-in clinic and instead should call 2-1-1 to check on its status.