Emergency Rental Assistance

Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program

Volusia County’s Community Assistance Division closed the online application portal for Emergency Rental Assistance at 5:00 p.m. on September 6, 2022. The portal allowed county residents who experienced a financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for rental and utility assistance. It will take several weeks for staff to process received applications and verify information.  Applicants will be contacted once their application has been reviewed. For more information, please contact our office at (386) 736-5955 or via email at era@volusia.org.

The Emergency Rental Assistance program has funds available to assist households that have experienced a financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. An eligible household may receive up to nine months of rental and utility arrears and three months of forward assistance. Households must be re-certified every three months to continue receiving assistance. An eligible household is a renter household in which at least one or more individual meets and can document the following criteria:

• Qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to or during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Demonstrates a risk of housing instability; and
• Has a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median. 

Applicant Prioritization – Applications will be prioritized in the following order:

• Priority 1 – Applicants who are unemployed for the 90 days prior to the application date and whose income at or below 50 percent of the area median income
• Priority 2 – Applicants whose income is at or below 50 percent of the area median income
• Priority 3 – Applicants who are unemployed for the 90 days prior to the application date and whose income is at or below 80 percent of the area median income
• Priority 4 – Applicants whose income is at or below 50 percent of the area median income

Program Information:

Required documents from applicant:

• Complete application
• Photo ID for all household members over 18
• Birth certificates for minors
• Social security card for all household members
  • Other acceptable documents are MMR records and first page of income tax returns
• Form IRS 1040 and W-2 for all household members (if no other document is available)
• Written attestation of no income
• Current lease or rental agreement
• Documentation of loss of employment due to COVID-19, including unemployment benefit statements and/or letter from employer
• Incurred significant cost (written attestation of hardship) or experienced other financial hardship due to or during COVID-19
• Current utility bill (if applicable)

Required documents from landlord:

• Proof of rental arrears and certificate of participation
• W-9 completed by landlord