The outbreak of Covid-19 caused a shift in the daily life we once knew. Businesses were closed, curfews were enacted, and resources became scarce. Like so many other industries, the rental market was majorly affected by the state of the country. In the height of the pandemic, many relief programs were made available to citizens as we faced closures, layoffs, and evictions. Now, as we approach the two year mark of the beginning of Covid-19, many aspects of our lives have returned to normal, or our new normal that is. For many, assistance is still needed and the good news is that there are still programs available to help you and provide rental assistance.
What are ERA programs?
The federal ERA refers to Emergency Rental Assistance. This program provides direct funding to states, local governments, US territories, and indigenous tribes. The funds provide the community with assistance paying rent, utilities, and covering other household expenses such as internet and moving costs. These resources can be used by both renters and landlords to assist in funding unpaid rent due to the hardships from Covid-19.
While these ERA funds are available in local government and communities nationally, we’ve outlined a few examples of rental assistance relief programs accessible in the following 4 US states:
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Washington State
Arizona
Arizona’s Department of Economic Security enacted an emergency rental assistance program that offers utility and rental assistance to eligible Arizona residents. If eligible, households may receive up to $3,500 per month in combined assistance for a maximum of 18 months. To determine eligibility for renters, applications must be submitted by both the renter and their landlord. Be sure to reach out to your landlord or property manager to discuss your situation and coordinate the application process. However, if you are interested in utility-only assistance you can apply without a joint application from your landlord.
Arizona counties included in rental assistance:
- Apache
- Cochise
- Coconino
- Gila
- Graham
- Greenlee
- La Paz
- Mohave
- Navajo
- Pinal
- Santa Cruz
- Yavapai
For rental assistance outside of these counties, refer to “other city and county opportated programs” on the DES website.
California
The CA Covid-19 Rent Relief Program provides rental assistance for past unpaid rent as well as future rental payment support. For renters, assistance from this program does not count as earned income and will not affect any eligibility for other state assistance programs including CalFresh or CalWORKs. Proof of citizenship and immigration status are not required to receive funding, applicants just need to provide proof of identification. The state will calculate your income eligibility after an application is submitted. Landlords who have a tenant with unpaid rent can apply for this assistance to help cover the cost of income lost.
Colorado
The Colorado Department of Local Affairs offers both rent and mortgage assistance programs. The emergency rental assistance program can also fund rent costs as far back as April 2020 to cover past due payments, but cannot reimburse you for rent already paid. This program offers rental assistance up to a maximum of 15 months. To qualify, your median income must be 80% or below the median income of your area. DOLA provides a helpful list of all Colorado counties and their median incomes to better assess your eligibility. Both landlords and their tenants are required to apply to receive assistance.
Washington State
The Washington State of Department of Commerce offers rental assistance through their Treasury Rent Assistance Program (TRAP). Interested applicants can browse local housing providers by county for information on where to apply and further resources for qualification guidelines, waitlists and more. For those impacted by the pandemic, this program may prevent evictions by paying past due, current and future rent payments. There are currently resource links to 34 of the 39 counties in Washington State listed on the Department of Commerce website.
How Zumper can help
We know many members of the rental community are still impacted by unemployment and facing financial hardship, so we wanted to offer a way to make it easier to locate help.
Zumper’s new Covid Relief page makes it easy to filter for available rental and utility assistance programs by state or county and find the resources that fit your needs.
The way past any obstacle is through action, and Zumper’s Covid-19 support tool makes taking those steps to get assistance a little less overwhelming. Visit the page today and see what is available in your state.
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