Maine Approves Rent Relief Program

Maine state legislators approved a new $18 million rent relief program that will distribute up to $800 per household to low-income Maine residents at risk of eviction.

Hannah LaClaire writes in The Portland Press Herald, “The program is designed to target Mainers most vulnerable for eviction – those making less than 60% of the area median income.

State Representative Drew Gattine estimates that roughly 2,400 people in the state will qualify for the program. “There are twice as many renter households with extremely low income in Maine as there are housing units affordable at that income, said James Myall, an economic policy analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy.”

LaClaire adds that “Qualifying renters cannot be using a federal housing voucher to pay rent when they apply, nor can they be living in a subsidized housing unit.” Lawmakers are still working out other details of the program’s structure.