Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)

ERAP helps District residents with incomes that do not exceed 40% of the Area Median Income (AMI) who are facing housing emergencies, by providing funding for overdue rent if a qualified household is facing eviction (including late costs and court fees). The program also supports security deposits and the first month's rent. ERAP may provide up to five (5) times HUD’s Rental Reasonable guideline for the zip code and bedroom size.

In the past year DHS received an influx of applications and closed the application portal in March 2023. To serve residents effectively and efficiently throughout the year, DHS will open the ERAP application portal on October 1, 2023, January 2, 2024, April 1, 2024, and July 1, 2024. Residents will be able to log-in at 12:00:00 PM on July 1, 2024, and the portal will remain open until 4,000 applications are received. Residents seeking emergency rental assistance are highly encouraged to note the above-mentioned dates and submit applications in a timely manner. Click here to learn more about documents needed to submit a complete application.

At the end of each fiscal year, September 30th, any incomplete application will be removed from the ERAP application platform. While you may have received an acknowledgement confirming that you started the application, it was not fully submitted. You must start a new application, complete it, and receive a "Submitted" confirmation affirming that your application was submitted successfully. The formal acknowledgement of submission is essential to complete the application process.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program Storymap: ERAP Storymap. ** The current Storymap data is not available. We are working to resolve this issue.