The City of Orlando’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program is set to end on Friday, July 1st, 2022, due to the anticipated exhaustion of the $6.8 million in COVID-19 Relief Funds awarded from the U.S. Department of the Treasury
“During this difficult, unprecedented time, the financial support provided by our rental assistance program has helped thousands of Orlando households.”
– ORLANDO MAYOR JOHN “BUDDY” DYER
Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has offered several programs to provide assistance to help residents and families who have been financially impacted. This has included helping more than 2,000 households through the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program of ERAP1 and ERAP2, in partnership with KPMG and Neighborly Software. Additionally, with funding from the State of Florida in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the city assisted more than 550 households get current on their past due rent.
City of Orlando households looking to apply for this latest round of funding, before July 1, 2022, should visit orlando.gov/assistance.
Per the Treasury Department’s requirements for this ERAP2 program, to be eligible, a household must:
- Include one or more individuals within the household who has qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship during or due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Include one or more individuals within the household who demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability;
- Have a household income at or below 80% of the area median income ($66,300 for a family of four), with priority given to households at or below 50% of the area median income ($41,450 for a family of four) or that have a household member who has been unemployed for 90 days; and
- Submit proof of occupancy in the rental residence – this can include a copy of a lease, rental agreement, rent receipts, evidence of regular rental payments, or any other documents that show proof of occupancy.
The City of Orlando’s program will have additional eligibility requirements and program guidelines including:
- The rental residence must be located within Orlando city limits. Applicants can verify their address at orlando.gov/assistance.
- Rental assistance is provided for past-due rent and up to three months of prospective rent payments. The total amount of assistance, including any assistance received under the first phase of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, may not exceed 18 months.
- Rentals in homeowner-occupied or homestead properties are not eligible.
- The applicant’s monthly rental rate may be no more than $4,000 per month.
- Assistance with utility payments will not be provided unless the utilities are billed as part of the lease.
- Rental assistance payments will be made directly to the landlord.
- If a landlord refuses to participate in the program, eligible tenants will still receive assistance by working with a Housing Stability Services counselor, as long as resources remain available.
- Housing Stability Services will be available through counseling to: prevent evictions; assist tenants in finding new housing and when necessary, pay fees, deposits, and rent for the new unit; and provide housing-related services for survivors of domestic abuse or human trafficking.
For more information on eligibility requirements and/or to begin the application process, Orlando residents should visit orlando.gov/assistance.
