Portland Maine News

The city of Portland has created a rental relief fund of $500,000 and announced that it will would allow residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for up to $2,250 in a three-month period to help residents with rent and utility costs that was a support for renters. 

But for those who supply subsidized housing, such as Avesta, providing help to residents is going to be difficult. Wait lists are expanding, and people aren’t moving as they would if there wasn’t the pandemic to contend with.  

“People who have safeties and housing are not leaving or moving," said Dana Totman, CEO of Avesta in an interview with CBS13 WGME.  "Our move-out [rate] this year compared to last year has just decreased significantly.”

The agency’s wait list has exploded by nearly 50% and the number of individuals moving out of their properties has declined 17%, making the backlog problem even worse. Avesta is building more affordable housing, with three new buildings under construction in Portland alone. The first is not scheduled for completion until January 2021, and the agency has a wait list of 1,400 for a bit more than 200 units under construction.

A fourth building could be delayed by the tax credit market, because banks aren’t taking the tax credits to build new affordable housing.

"The value of the tax credits to build projects like this have gone way down--by up to 12%," Totman said. "And the reason it’s gone down is that traditional investors–the banks and institutional investors–don’t have a need for tax credits like they used to.”

To apply for assistance through the city of Portland, visit the Housing and Community Development page (https://portlandmaine.gov/775/Housing-and-Community-Development).

For those who don’t live in Portland, there is still $2 million in assistance waiting to be distributed by the Maine State Housing Authority.