Most of us know what it’s like to need help paying rent and fear it’s not going to come from anywhere.

Especially after 2020, when suddenly a lot more people learned what it felt like to need help paying rent, with no steady employment or savings to fall back onto. But if there’s a silver lining to a horrible situation, it’s that we became a lot more conscious about financial problems we just accepted as part of life before.

Did you know that if you need help paying rent, there are multiple sources you can go to for assistance, including Alabama Title Loans, Inc.? We’ll cover them below.

Where To Seek Help Paying Rent

1. Seek Out Free Legal Advice

Maybe you don’t even need help paying rent this month. Maybe your rent payment can be delayed until your next paycheck (or any other check) when you can pay it off and forget about the nightmare.

Make sure you understand what your lease does and doesn’t allow you to do in similar situations. And the best way to do that is to seek out free legal services that help renters.

Even if it turns out your lease is air-tight, and you need to pay rent no matter what – the legal advisor in question could advise you how to best utilize other options.

2. Look For Local Housing Authorities

Local Housing Authority is an agency that provides social housing for people unable to afford accommodations. And even if you don’t qualify for social housing just yet, your LHA is likely to have a list of short-term assistance resources they could direct you to.

3. Look Into Charity Assistance In Your Area

Many charities have small grant programs for emergency assistance – and the inability to cover rent usually qualifies as an emergency. Modern Needs, for example, has a Self-Sufficiency grant that can be awarded to cover an emergency.

Some even have specific grants for situations like this. Salvation Army, for example, offers one-time rent assistance. The problem with most charities is that their help is usually one-off only. They cannot keep paying your rent for months on end, so if you need long-term assistance, you would have to explore other resources.

4. Find Out If You Qualify For The Housing Choice Voucher Program

Luckily, there are long-term assistance programs in place (even if they can be hard to qualify – here’s where that legal advice is crucial).

Housing Choice Voucher program, or, as more commonly known, Section 8, covers not only rent but some utilities for a privately owned property. If you qualify the payments would go directly to your landlord. If the voucher isn’t enough to fully cover your rent and utilities, you would have to pay the difference.

5. Apply For State Assistance

States get grants through the HOME Partnerships program to provide decent affordable housing options to lower-income residents. If you need help paying rent long-term, maybe you should start looking into this one.

6. Get A Short-Term Loan

The downside to most of the options listed above is that qualifying, applying, and then getting approved for them may take more time than you can strictly afford.

If you need help paying rent by the end of the week, or tomorrow, or TODAY, you might just not have time to hunt down a pro-bono lawyer, sift through all the requirements for assistance programs, and then wait to get approved.

In that case, you might want to look into getting a short-term loan like a title pawn. Keep in mind that any debt is an additional financial obligation, so unless you need help paying rent in a very short time frame, this is not an option that should be your first choice.

But if you’re looking at a final deadline, a title pawn could be of help. It’s accessible, simple, and quick. You will need only a few items to qualify, and Alabama Title Loans, Inc. welcomes borrowers of all credit and income situations. This means you can get a title pawn even if your credit is bad or if you’re currently unemployed.

How To Get A Title Pawn:

1. Get the required items in order. You’ll need a state-issued ID proving you’re over 18, your car, and the car’s title in your name – it must be completely lien-free;
2. Fill out and submit the online form on the website;
3. Answer when the loan representative calls with further instructions;
4. Take the required items to the meeting the loan representative schedules for you;
5. Let them inspect everything. The loan representative will determine if you qualify and on what terms based on the state of your items;
6. Get approved, finish the paperwork, and get the cash either on the same or next day!

Get Started Today!

Follow the tips on how to find help paying rent presented above if you have enough time at disposal to find someone who can help you. If, however, you need help paying rent TODAY, submit a short inquiry form for a title pawn online that you can find on our website – and you could get up to $15,000 before the day is gone!

To learn more about handling emergency expenses, read our other financial emergency articles.

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.