The Sarasota Consortium, a joint administration of Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota through the Office of Housing and Community Development, will be making rental assistance available for those affected by COVID-19.

The Consortium has received a distribution of $695,069 in Coronavirus Relief Funds from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Residents of Sarasota County who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and have experienced unemployment or underemployment may apply for rental assistance to prevent eviction. The funds can cover rental arrears dating back to March 1, as well as current rent due. Assistance may not exceed five months’ worth of rent and $9,000 in total.

Applications will be accepted starting Sept. 8, and the application period will end Sept. 30, or when all funds are expended, whichever occurs first. Links for applications will be available on the Office of Housing and Community Development pages on the City of Sarasota website and the Sarasota County website beginning Sept. 8.

A limited number of paper applications will be available Sept. 8 at each public library in Sarasota County and at the City Hall Annex, 1565 First St. Applicants submitting hard copies must send the application by mail to the Office of Housing and Community Development, 111 S. Orange Ave., Suite 103, Sarasota, FL 34236.

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