The stimulus checks keep flowing — sort of. In the absence of any more such handouts from the federal government, states and cities have taken a piecemeal, ad hoc approach to try and keep all this going on a local level. It’s why, for example, Californians might be getting money to offset high gas prices soon. And why Biden himself wants to pivot from stimulus checks to a different kind of stimulus (student loan debt relief). Meanwhile, Hawaii has a stimulus-style program of its own, to help people with soaring rent payments.
Help with rent payments
Hawaii’s Rental & Utility Relief Program provides support for, as the name implies, both utility as well as rent payments.
Thus far, the program has sent out in excess of $155 million in aid. And as far as how to qualify? According to the program’s stipulations, eligibility is determined if:
- The household can show financial hardship since March 2020 and at least one member is at risk of losing their housing, and
- The household is at 80 percent annual median income or lower. For a household of four, that’s $104,500 a year or less.
- OR: A household can qualify if at least one member has been unemployed for 90 days at the time of application.
Click the button near the top of this page to apply for the rent payments aid. In terms of how much money is potentially available, the site goes on to note that recipients could get as much as $2,500 a month for outstanding utility bills or rent payments.
Also available: Up to $2,000 a month for ongoing rent payments, and $500 a month for ongoing utility bills.
Stimulus check update
One important note to add: Hawaiians shouldn’t apply for this aid to get help with their mortgage bill. This is strictly for utility and rent payments.
Meantime, if you want to get a closer look at some of the other stimulus check-related news headlines from recent days, you can check out some of our recent pieces below. Alternatively, bookmark this page right here to say up to date when we publish a new story.
- $3,600 tax credits are now available to even more people — see if you’re eligible
- Millions of Americans get an extra tax rebate soon — here’s when
- 10 states where you can get stimulus checks and extra tax rebates now
- Stimulus check news: See if you’re eligible for $1,000 credits that might come soon
Relief from student loans
As we alluded to above, it’s also not just renters struggling with rent payments who could be in store for some help soon.
According to sources with knowledge of President Biden’s thinking who spoke to Bloomberg, Biden is leaning toward using executive action to forgive at least $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower. Anonymous sources have cautioned that the president’s thinking here is still fluid. But there is chatter that there would be some sort of means-testing in whatever final form of a plan emerges.
