TAMPA, Fla. — The city of Tampa's Rental and Move-in Assistance Program, or RMAP, is accepting new applications beginning Thursday, Aug. 8.
The decision to re-open applications comes after significant rent increases in the Tampa housing market over the past few years, according to a news release. The program closed in April from a high volume of applications after providing permanent housing to 51 homeless people, 35 disabled people, 29 senior citizens and 211 families with children, the news release said.
“We are proud to say, that after months of being put on pause, we are re-opening this program to provide assistance to more residents facing high rent costs,” Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement. “During its most recent phase, since February, RMAP has enabled 118 families avoid eviction and another 285 families remain stably housed.”
RMAP was started in 2022 to help income-qualified working residents get sustainable housing by covering costs like security deposits, first and last month's rent and monthly rental assistance for up to a year.
Since the program started, it has helped more than 1,800 houses and given more than $9.5 million in rental assistance.
To qualify, families must earn up to 140% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and must be current approved renters for a unit in the city of Tampa. In some cases, recipients of RMAP funding were either homeless or at risk of homelessness, according to a news release.
Beginning Thursday, Aug. 8, 25 eligible applicants will be accepted every Tuesday and Thursday until the funding limit is reached. Applications are available on the city of Tampa's website.
