Committee reviews draft application for Impacted Tenants Fund to assist displaced renters

The Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee reviewed a draft application for the Impacted Tenants Fund, a city program to provide direct cash assistance to tenants displaced by storm damage or whose units have been condemned.

Alderman Aldridge presented the draft application and thanked Department of Human Services deputy director Valerie Russell and mayoral policy staff for rapid work to implement the program. The application asks applicants for identifying information, the impacted address, leaseholder name, dates of lease, number of bedrooms, landlord contact information and whether the applicant has already secured new housing.

Valerie Russell, deputy director of the Department of Human Services, told the committee staff will cross‑check multiple databases (the Building Division’s tag/inspection database, a UMSL‑compiled Airtable of reports, Vacancy Collaborative/SLDC data, and records held by CDA) and use a contracted implementing partner (Employment Connection) to validate addresses and eligibility. Russell said the program will initially run from city funds (including fines) and an additional city allocation; she listed example award amounts tied to 2025 Fair Market Rent (FMR): “a 1 bedroom unit would be $984. 2 bedrooms, 1,215. 3 bedrooms, 1,570. 4 bedrooms, 1,806.”

Russell cautioned that if the committee later decides to deploy CDBG household assistance to tenants, the application would need to be revised to collect income information and other CDBG‑required documentation. “We may need to do 1 more iteration or revision of this application to make sure that we are not going to change the application after so many months,” she said, noting the goal of avoiding inconsistent documentation requirements across applicants.

Committee members raised concerns about multigenerational households, occupants not listed on leases, potential conflicts of interest (city employees or relatives of officials), and whether demographic or nondiscrimination disclosures should be added. Alderman Keith asked how households where multiple people lived at an impacted address but only one was on the lease would be handled; staff said the ordinance authorizes payment to the leaseholder, and the leaseholder would determine intra‑household sharing of funds.

City staff said the initial funding for payouts will come from city sources (building‑division fines and departmental carryover and ARPA for implementation costs) and that the department had submitted an additional $100,000 request for the June ENA meeting. Russell said the ordinance requires payments be made directly to individuals and that the department lacks the ability to enforce how recipients spend cash once it is received; she recommended clear applicant communications about the program’s intent and limitations.

The committee discussed additional legal disclosures and review by the city counselor’s office before broad public release. Several committee members asked staff to coordinate with the city counselor’s office to add customary application disclosures, nondiscrimination statements and conflict‑of‑interest reporting as appropriate before finalizing the application for release. The item was held for further revisions and will return to committee for approval as required by the ordinance.