Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program

Per the U.S. Treasury’s requirements for this program, to be eligible, a household must include: 

• one or more individuals within the household qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to COVID-19;
• one or more individuals within the household demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and
• the household’s income is at or below 80% of area median income, based on household size 

*NOTE: As per federal regulation, this program prioritizes assistance to households with incomes less than 50% area median income and to households with one or more members that have been unemployed for at least 90 days. The City is also prioritizing those applicants with a three-day notice.

ASSISTANCE

The funding made available under this program will be used to make one-time, direct payments to landlords/utility providers on behalf of qualifying tenants. These payments:

• Will cover a tenant’s documented past-due rent only for the time period after March 13, 2020, to present AND/OR can cover three months future rent;
• Cannot exceed 15 months of assistance based on the household’s need (to include past due rent, utilities, and/or three months future rent) with a cap of up to $3,000 per month, per household, and up to $36,000 total if necessary;
• Utilities addressed via this program include: water and sewer, power, gas, and/or home Internet costs
• Other housing-related expenses addressed via this program include (on a case-by-case basis): relocation expenses and rental fees of temporarily/permanently displaced households, reasonable accrued late fees, and any other housing related expense deemed eligible by the U.S. Treasury;
• Cannot duplicate any rental assistance already received by the tenant or the landlord for the tenant’s past-due rent (including: Sec. 8 voucher, Sec. 8 project-based, HOPWA project-based or long-term rental assistance, VASH voucher, Public Housing, COVID relief programs, etc.);  
• Will be processed on a first-come, first-ready, first-serve basis, with the exception of the priority* noted above, based on funding availability.

ELIGIBILITY

To qualify, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

1. Be a City of Miami resident (all property folios in the City of Miami begin with 01). Please use the address locator tool to confirm you reside within the City prior to submitting a program application: https://www.miamidade.gov/pa/property_search.asp.
2. Have a household total income (2020) that does not exceed 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), as issued by U.S. HUD every year, based on household size.
3. Due to COVID-19, the applicant or an adult member of their household must have qualified for unemployment, had a reduction in household income, or experienced a financial hardship.
4. Due to COVID-19, the applicant or an adult member of their household must be experiencing housing instability.
5. Submit all of the required documentation requested as part of the application, either via the online portal or accompanying the paper application. Due to the size of this program and the volume of applicants anticipated, applying online is recommended. However, starting March 29, applicants can also download an application (below) to print and complete, or pick up a paper application at select City locations (to be announced soon), and submit it along with photocopies of all the required documentation requested, as indicated on the paper application. 
6. The City will not process applications, whether online or in paper, that are missing the required supporting documentation.
7. Submission of an application does not guarantee the applicant will receive any assistance. Supporting documents submitted as part of the application process cannot be returned to the applicant.
8. Landlords seeking to apply on behalf of eligible tenants should fill out the Landlord Referral Form (link pending). Please note, the tenant must still supply all the requested supporting documentation in order to have the case reviewed. 

Prioritization of Assistance

In reviewing applications for financial assistance and housing stability services to eligible households, the City shall prioritize consideration of the applications of an eligible household that satisfies any of the following conditions:

1. The income of the household does not exceed fifty (50) percent of the AMI for the household.
2. One (1) or more individuals within the household are unemployed as of the date of the application for assistance and have not been employed for the ninety-day period preceding such date.

Additionally, the City  will also give priority assistance to households that have received a 3-day eviction notice or in an eviction proceeding.