At the time of posting this article (April 2024), Impact funding is still available to tenants in Ohio. This funding comes from federal money that was provided to the states during the pandemic. Some states returned this money back to the federal government after the pandemic. Ohio kept the money and continues distributing to tenants who qualify for the funding. Qualifications depend upon income and number of individuals in the household among other things. Currently, Impact funding is limited to a maximum of $4500 per applicant.
If a landlord agrees to accept Impact funding then he/she is agreeing to dismiss the eviction and let the tenant remain in the premises. Here is the general process for Impact funding:
- Tenant fills out an application usually at the courthouse with Impact. Impact requires tenants to do so on the eviction hearing date. Only tenants facing a pending eviction and who apply on the hearing date are eligible unless there are extenuating circumstances.
- Impact will contact the landlord via email. The landlord must agree to accepting Impact funding and provide a copy of the lease, a ledger, and a w-9 form. Landlords can find a w-9 form at the IRS website. I linked to it to make it so easy. Many landlords do not know what a ledger is. A ledger is a running itemization of credits and debits to the tenant’s rental account over a several month or year period. For example, when rent comes due on the first of the month, an entry is made showing a debit (or an amount owed) for April’s rent on April 1. If the tenant still hasn’t paid the rent by April 6 then an entry is made showing a late charge. If the tenant was current on all charges up until April 1 and rent is $1000 a month and late charges are $100 a month then the running total on April 6 would be $1100.00. If the tenants pays $1100 on April 7, an entry is made showing that and the running balance would be $0.00. Here is an example of a ledger.
- The ledger must reflect an accurate balance of what the tenant owed on the date the ledger is provided to Impact. Inaccurate representations of balances owed may result in denial of Impact funding and potential fraud liability, perhaps even to the federal government.
- Once the landlord submits the lease, ledger and w-9 form, Impact will begin processing payment. Payment is now rumored to take about two weeks from this point. This means that if the landlord delays submitting the lease, ledger and w-9, processing the payment will not start until the landlord finally submits these documents. I’ve had a few landlord clients who kept asking me when they would get there payment only to discover that they had not submitted the required information to Impact. Or they had submitted illegible documents to impact. The longer the landlord takes to submit this information, the longer getting the check takes.
Questions about Impact.
- What if my tenant owes more than $4500 and I accept Impact? You can make a payment plan with your tenant for the difference owed. If the tenant defaults on the payment plan, you can bring another eviction action or pursue the money through collections.
- What if my tenant has applied for Impact and then later moves out and damages the property and owes me back rent? You can use the security deposit to cover these damages and/or you can pursue the tenant in court for the damages beyond normal wear and tear and unpaid rent. Accepting Impact does not change your rights as a landlord as to damages beyond normal wear and tear and unpaid rent.
- What if the tenant owes less than $4500 and I accept Impact? Impact will pay you the lesser amount.