Montgomery County’s Emergency Rental Assistance program’s (ERA) COVID Rent Relief application portal will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 31. Applications submitted before the deadline will be reviewed and processed, but no additional applications will be received after that time.
An additional round of rent-relief funding, with an updated application process and eligibility criteria, will be announced in early 2022.
As of Nov. 29, almost $40 million in direct assistance has been provided to residents through ERA 1 funds and more than 3,700 evictions were prevented. Since May 2020, the County has provided more than $56 million in rent relief to more than 8,200 households.
Residents who may be eligible for rent relief to submit applications before Dec. 31 are encouraged to apply. Individuals who need assistance completing an application should call 311, and they will be matched with a nonprofit partner who can help, or they will be contacted by a program staff member.
Applications already submitted will be reviewed and processing of applications already received continues. Residents who have already applied can check their application’s status on the rent relief portal.
On Nov. 24, County Executive Marc Elrich transmitted notice of an additional $34 million ERA 2 funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to the County Council. It was part of a $48.5 supplemental to the Fiscal Year 2022 budget from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Residents who have already received funding from round three of the COVID Rent Relief Program are not eligible for additional COVID Rent Relief funds. Residents who have received an eviction judgement from the courts or a “red and white” notice from the County Sheriff’s Office should call 311 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Help is available from the County’s Department of Health and Human Services’ eviction prevention team to develop a housing plan.
Information about the current program can be found at www.mc311.com/rentrelief. When available, details about the future round of rent relief funding will also be available on the website.
