$9.9M Rent Relief Grant Accepted In DeKalb County

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — DeKalb County officials accepted another federal grant for $9.9 million for rent and utility assistance, in addition to the county's existing $21 million rent relief program, amid its application reopening process last week.

DeKalb County commissioners approved the $9.9 million American Rescue Plan grant at last Tuesday's Board of Commissioners meeting, and DeKalb Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams said "significant portions" of this funding could skip the existing $21 million Tenant-Landlord Assistance Coalition program altogether and go straight to nonprofits for distribution.

The county has already done this once before — it sent millions of dollars to nonprofits to help with rent, utilities, food and other areas earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“As we indicated last week, it is not going to be either-or,” Williams said during last Tuesday's meeting. “It’s going to be TLAC plus not-for-profits. And it may be plus some things we haven’t even thought of.”

Applications for DeKalb's TLAC program reopened last week after applications could not be accessed due to a cybersecurity attack on the program in late March, which is under investigation by the FBI, DeKalb Chief Information Officer John Matelski said previously.

The county received more than 400 requests for financial assistance on the first day of the program's reopening, according to The AJC. Officials said this was lower than anticipated, and they are encouraging people who applied the first time to reapply if they have not moved along in the process.

Instructions and the application portal are on the TLAC program website at dekalbcountyga.gov/renthelp.

Read more:

• Rent Relief Program Applications Reopening In DeKalb
• Local Residents, Advocates Push DeKalb To Speed Up Rent Relief
• DeKalb Receives $21M Grant For Rent Relief, Eviction Prevention
• Over 2,000 People Apply For DeKalb's New Rent Relief Program