Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 includes emergency rental assistance for households economically impacted by
COVID-19. The package includes $25 billion for emergency rental assistance to be distributed and overseen by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Funds allocated to States and local government administrations to operate emergency rental
assistance programs for local landlords and tenants.
ERAP Eligibility
Eligible households include families that have:
- Income below 80 percent of the area median income
- A financial obligation to pay rent
- At least one household member has experienced a reduction of income or other financial hardship due to COVID-19
- Experienced or are at risk of experiencing homelessness
Eligible uses of ERAP funds
- Rent and rental arrears
- Utilities and home energy costs and utilities and home energy cost arrears
- Other expenses related to housing incurred due to COVID-19
The bill states that to the extent feasible, eligible grant recipients of rental assistance provided to an eligible household cannot overlap with other Federally funded rental assistance. The local emergency rental assistance programs
prioritize families that are 50 percent or below area median income or households where one or more individual within the household are unemployed, as of the date of the application, and have not been employed for 90 days preceding the
date of the application.
Payments
Renters may apply on behalf of themselves or landlords may apply on behalf of their Tenants. If a landlord or property owner applies, their tenant must cosign the landlord’s application and the landlord must inform the tenant that the
landlord applied. Any funds the landlord receives must be applied to the tenant’s rental obligations.
Direct payments will be made to the landlord or utility company unless the landlord or utility provider does not agree to accept such payments. In these instances, the direct payment will be made to the eligible household for the purpose of
making payments to the landlord or the utility provider.
Length of Program
Funds will remain available through December 31, 2021. Assistance will not be provided to a household for more than 12 months, except that households may receive an additional 3 months to ensure housing stability, subject to funding
availability. Should households have rental arrears, assistance to reduce these arrears must be made prior to committing assistance towards the household’s prospective rent.
Eviction Moratorium
The current Administration through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have further extended the Eviction Moratorium to Wednesday, March 31, 2021. All aspects of the CDC Eviction Moratorium will remain in place. Current tenant
declarations will remain in effect until March 31, 2021 and new tenant declarations may be provided to landlords until March 31, 2021.