KENTUCKY — Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday he is directing a portion of the state's federal funds for emergency rental assistance to Louisville and Lexington "to continue their programs and ensure more Kentuckians harmed financially by the pandemic receive assistance with rent and utilities," according to a release from his office.

Beshear said the federal funding formula gave the two cities, which had their own eviction relief programs, fewer funds than anticipated. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton both asked the governor to consider allocating part of the Commonwealth's fund to keep the local programs going.

Jeff O'Brien, director of Develop Louisville, received a check presented by Beshear for $27 million of federal funds from the Commonwealth for the city's local program. Gorton accepted $11.7 million from the governor for Lexington's program.

“This is part of our ongoing effort to help as many Kentuckians as possible with eviction and utility relief – landlords, tenants and utility companies,” said Beshear. “This funding represents more of the Team Kentucky spirit as we continue our strong partnership between Louisville, Lexington and the commonwealth by working together to ensure that the needs of Kentuckians are met and we can help those impacted by the pandemic.”

“Thanks to Gov. Beshear, we will now have the additional dollars we need to continue to prevent evictions in our community,” Gorton said. “With these funds, we will be able to help many citizens through their immediate crisis and beyond.”

“I am proud that our team at Louisville Metro Government has helped more than 23,000 residents facing a pandemic-related loss of income remain housed,” said Fischer. “Thank you to Gov. Beshear and Team Kentucky for this additional funding that will go a long way toward ensuring our residents have a safe and dry place to sleep at night.”

Louisville and Lexington applied for direct funding from the federal government for their own local rent and utility assistance programs under the federal emergency rental assistance program that passed Congress in late December 2020. Louisville received about $22.8 million and Lexington received about $9.6 million from the federal government.

Kentucky received an allocation of $264 million in federal funds for the emergency rental assistance program. With this, the Beshear administration launched the Team Kentucky Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund (HHERF) on Feb. 15, 2021, and, working with partners, has processed over $18 million to landlords and utilities across Kentucky on behalf of 2,800 renter households, the release said.

The state’s HHERF must obligate all funds by Sept. 30, 2025.