A massive federal relief effort is trying to catch up with the vast need of renters and landlords who are struggling with rents, utilities and mortgages because of the pandemic.

More funds are coming and renters with past-due bills should apply, say the United Way of Greater Kansas City and local landlords.

Landlords can also start applications for tenants who they know need help.

And legal help is available for qualifying renters already facing eviction.

The urgent message, shared in a online call-for-action Friday, is that households under stress should apply for help and talk with with their landlords and utility companies, and that everyone needs to collaborate and be patient.

Many households that suffered increased hardship due to the pandemic will qualify for assistance.

Here’s how renters can seek relief:

• Kansas City renters should apply online at gkcassistanceprogram.org

• Jackson County residents outside of Kansas City should apply online at jacksoncountyerap.org

• Households facing eviction in Jackson, Clay or Platte counties should call 2-1-1 to be screened for potential legal help and other assistance.

• Landlords in Kansas City, Mo., and Clay County can initiate assistance applications for tenants at ll.communitycarelink.org

In many cases, if renters with past-due bills and facing utility shut-off make an application and contact the utility, cut-off warnings can be delayed.

The CDC recently extended a moratorium on evictions for most of the nation including Missouri, but the moratorium does not forgive past debts, it only provides more time for renters to make payment plans.

“The rent will be due at some point,” said Stacey Johnson-Cosby of the KC Regional Housing Alliance landlords organization. “That’s why it is critical to apply for the funds today.”

Many landlords have not been able to collect many of their rents over the past 18 months and the risk of foreclosures is growing, she said. And if properties are lost, she said, the Kansas City area will lose more of its affordable housing options.

“We need renters as much as they need us,” Cosby-Johnson said. “There is no ‘us versus them.’”

Some of the totals so far, shared in Friday’s call, show that in two distributions of the federal Emergency Rental and Utilities Assistance Program, Missouri is distributing some $730 million in aid. The Kansas City Neighborhoods & Housing Services Department has processed some $9.14 million in aid, said the city’s tenant advocate, Tiffany Drummer.

The application process is complicated and requires online connectivity, which is a barrier for many households — a problem that organizations throughout the area are trying to tackle.

Several local social service agencies are working to help process the thousands of applications, including LINC. LINC staff through late August had processed more than $680,000 in utility bill relief.